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NFT, AI, and virtual currency related sponsors prohibited
The e-sports league for the popular game “Overwatch” announced its official rulebook on January 31st. Among them, they announced a ban on sponsorships by crypto asset (virtual currency) companies.
This is the look featured in the rulebook for the Overwatch Champions Series, which is supervised by esports tournament management company ESL FACEIT Group.
No fantasy gambling/gambling/liquor/crypto sponsors for @OW_Esports teams. pic.twitter.com/dZ4SMs73EN
— James B Fudge (@jfudge) February 1, 2024
It prohibits organizations and companies associated with virtual currency exchanges from sponsoring game players and teams, along with organizations associated with alcoholic beverage companies, tobacco, gambling, political activities, and religion.
Players sponsored by NFT (non-fungible tokens), artificial intelligence (AI), or machine learning companies are also prohibited from participating. No specific reason was mentioned.
Overwatch is a series of team-based action shooting games provided by Activision Blizzard, a major American game company.
What is e-sports?
It is an abbreviation for Electronic Sports, and the name refers to video games as a sport. It is often held as a multiplayer game tournament. Its popularity has grown thanks to the proliferation of online streaming platforms, and as of 2017, the worldwide audience is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. There are various competitions such as shooting, fighting, puzzles, and card games.
Virtual currency glossary
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Examples of partnerships between Web3 companies and esports
There have been many examples of collaborations between Web3 companies and esports teams. Most recently, blockchain game Illuvium announced a partnership with Team Liquid, one of the world’s largest esports teams, in November last year.
connection: Web3/NFT game “Illuvium” partners with largest e-sports team Team Liquid
In 2021, FTX, a major virtual currency exchange that has since gone bankrupt, acquired the naming rights to the American professional esports organization TSM for approximately 23 billion yen.
connection: Cryptocurrency exchange FTX acquires naming rights to famous e-sports team “TSM” for 23 billion yen
The ability to provide in-game items in the form of NFTs with proof of ownership, the ability to transport items between games on different blockchains, and the potential for players and esports fans to earn token rewards. It is also pointed out that Web3 has good compatibility.
However, since the bankruptcy of FTX in November 2022, the number of cases of collaboration between virtual currency companies and the esports industry has visibly decreased, and some esports organizations are starting to have more relationships with virtual currency companies than before. Some people point out that the government may be hesitant to do so.
Game companies exploring Web3
In a report released in September 2023, CoinGecko analyzed that 29 of the top 40 game companies by market capitalization are exploring Web3 businesses.
connection:29 of the world’s top 40 game companies are exploring the Web3 field
Takashi Kiryu, president of Square Enix Holdings, one of Japan’s leading game companies, said at the beginning of this year that the company will be working on blockchain, Web3, and AI.
Last December, Square Enix also officially launched its first NFT collectible art project, “SYMBIOGENESIS.”
connection: Square Enix New Year’s impressions “Working on blockchain, Web3, AI and cloud”
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