Sony and RTS, a new venture from Endeavor’s sports industry, acquired the prestigious Evo Fighting Tournament through a joint venture esports partnership. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed “due to contractual obligations.”
“Fighting games have been an important part of PlayStation’s legacy and our community from the beginning, and we’ve very excited to be with Evo over the years,” said Steven Roberts, VP of Global Competitive Games at Sony Interactive Entertainment. Press release. “This joint acquisition with RTS is a new chapter of collaboration with Evo’s co-founders, Tom and Tony Cannon, and their passionate community of fighters.”
Tom and Tony Cannon too shared a message to the Evo community regarding the acquisition. “The new partnership is committed to bringing back to you amazing tournaments and competitive gaming experiences this year and beyond,” they said.
The organizations also announced that Evo will be back again this year as Evo Online, a virtual fighting game competition taking place from 6 to 8 August and 13 to 15 August. Players can participate in tournaments for Guilty Gear Strive, Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, en Tekken 7.
‘Our joint team is laser-focused on one mission: to preserve the authenticity of Evo for the fighting game community and to find creative ways to grow the tournament with our fans and make the events and broadcasts more fun, engaging and accessible than ever before, ”Sony said in its blog. “At its core remains Evo what it has always been: an open-format competition that offers fighting enthusiasts from different countries the chance to make contact, test their skills and forge new friendships. According to Sony, The Cannons will continue to be ‘closely involved in an advisory role’.
Last year, Evo was to go online this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was canceled after co-founder and president Joey Cuellar was accused of sexual misconduct.
‘We want to reaffirm that harassment or abuse of any kind has no place in Evo or any of our future events, and we take every precaution to ensure that members of our community will always be treated with respect, dignity and decency, Said the Cannons in their statement.
Evo is operated by the new joint venture between Sony and RTS, the new venture of Endeavor. (Endeavor provides talent representation, event management services and other services for sports, entertainment and other industries.)
“Evo is a unique and iconic community, unlike any other in the battlefield, and we are proud to work with the SIE team and the legends that Tom and Tony are, as well as Mark Julio as head of business development. help grow Evo, ”said RTS CEO Stuart Saw in a statement.