Global lockdown drives big demand for esports

The esports sector entered 2020 with aspirations for a good year ahead, similar to many others. But where it differs is that COVID-19 has not destroyed its aspirations.

With hundreds of millions of people globally now confined to their homes for anything non-essential, the demand for Esports will likely take off.

After all, as a spokeswoman for Immutable told Stockhead, this is an industry that thrives on social distancing.

Immutable is a private esports company that focuses on the digital assets exchanged in games. Like so many other companies it has had to move to remote operation, but it reports the transition was smooth.

And the spokeswoman added that, Imuutable was “planning for accelerated product growth over the next 60-90 days”.

A big few weeks ahead

iCandy Interactive (ASX:ICI) is one of the handful of ASX stocks that are in the esports sector.

Chairman Kin Wai Lau says his company too has a big few weeks ahead. iCandy will launch two major games in the next month, one of which already has 500,000 pre-registered users.

“People are spending more time on computers — whether that translates into additional revenues is too early to tell. But across the industry everyone is saying there are a lot more gaming sessions and time spent online,” he told Stockhead.

“People are looking for ways to socialise with their friends online, particularly people in isolation.

“We have tried to push forward the product launch as soon as possible because the market is looking for these solutions.”

iCandy develops games and publishes them on an online library, which already holds nearly 300 games. The company has headquarters in Malaysia and Australia, where it is listed, but operates globally.

Stockhead also reached out to Esports Mogul (ASX:ESH) for comment. The company promised it would update shareholders this week but declined to reveal anything ahead of that.

Earlier this month, Esports inked a commercial partnership with global tech giant Microsoft.

Microsoft is launching a tournament series for its licensed game Age of Empires II — Definitive Edition.

The rollout will take place across eight markets in the Asia-Pacific. And Esports Mogul has been commissioned to provide the platform for the tournament series, along with a Branded Hub to support the initiative.

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