Sony Interactive Entertainment, in partnership with the esports business RTS, has acquired the annual fighting game tournament Evo. Tournament co-founders Tom and Tony Cannon will remain “closely involved” in advisory roles.
While this now effectively makes it a Sony PlayStation event, Evo’s director of global business development, Mark Julio, says the annual tournament is still open to all platforms.
Here’s some of official PR from SIE, along with Evo’s message:
“For PlayStation, today’s announcement marks an exciting step in our journey to foster the growth of the fighting game community and esports, and support competitive gamers widely on our consoles. Fighting games are hugely popular on PlayStation consoles, with gamers logging more than 1.1 billion gameplay hours in 2020 alone. We’re committed to breaking down the barriers for gamers to compete at all levels and providing a best-in-class, global platform for them to showcase their skills and passion.”
A Nintendo spokesperson provided the following statement to IGN, mentioning how the company would continue to “assess” Evo, as it plans for future Super Smash Bros. tournament activity:
“Nintendo has enjoyed engaging with fans at past Evo tournaments and wish the show organizers the best with their new venture. We will continue to assess Evo, and other opportunities, as we plan for future online and offline Super Smash Bros. tournament activity.”
Evo will return this year, with a full online competition taking place between 6th – 8th August and 13th – 15th August. Entry is free and players from North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America will be able to compete.
The line-up of games currently includes Tekken 7, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate and Guilty Gear -Strive-. More details will be shared in the “coming weeks”.
What are your thoughts about this latest acquisition? How do you think this could affect the future of the Super Smash Bros. competitive scene? Share your thoughts down below.
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