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Lionsgate Partners With Twitch And MLG For StarCraft II Tournament
Lionsgate released the film adaptation of Ender's Game last year, and in honor of its upcoming Blu-ray release, the studio is partnering with Twitch to sponsor and stream a $20,000 StarCraft II tournament.
Twitch has had plenty of experience partnering with large video game publishers, but this is the first time the online streaming service has worked with a major Hollywood partner.
The tournament's qualifying rounds begin and will be streaming on Twitch online on February 5, with the first round ending on the February 9. Round two runs from February 11 to 16 and will be airing on MLG.TV (coinciding with the Blu-ray release of Ender's Game), and the final round will take place on February 22 on Twitch. Assorted monetary prizes will be going to the winners of the assorted tournaments with a $10,000 prize going to the overall winner.
You can check out the full press release for the tournament on page two.
Our Take
Twitch in particular has seen a huge burst popularity in recent months, thanks in part to PlayStation 4's integration. If this promotion proves successful, I'm sure we will see a lot more film production companies looking at Twitch as a viable avenue of promotion.
LIONSGATE PRESENTS ‘ENDER’S GAME ON BLU-RAY TOURNAMENT,’ FIRST-EVER MOVIE STUDIO PARTNERSHIP WITH MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING AND TWITCH FOR ONLINE COMPETITION
Tournament Play Featuring Top StarCraft II Players Begins February 5
Ender's Game Arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, Video on Demand and Pay-Per-View February 11, Digital HD Available Now
SANTA MONICA, CA (February 3, 2014) - The Ender’s Game on Blu-ray Tournament, the first for a motion picture studio, partners Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and OddLot Entertainment with Twitch and Major League Gaming (MLG), the leaders in global eSports, in an epic gaming battle for over $20,000 in prize money, the companies announced today.
The online gaming competition is being held in advance of the February 11th Blu-ray, DVD, Video on Demand and Pay-Per-View release of Ender’s Game, which was released theatrically by Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE company, in partnership with OddLot Entertainment and Digital Domain on November 1, 2013. The film grossed $61.7 million at the domestic theatrical box office.
The companies noted that Ender’s Game, a film about a boy being groomed for a commanding role in an epic space battle, is perfectly suited to a StarCraft II competition led by the two gaming titans. StarCraft II, set in space, is a military science fiction real-time strategy online game. Just as Ender rose above his fellow students to become Commander of the International Fleet, one StarCraft II player will rise above his or her competition to become the Ender’s Game on Blu-ray Tournament Champion.
"The skills used to develop battle leaders in Ender’s Game are drawn from real world gaming, especially the types of skills used by premier tournament level players,” said Anne Parducci, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Lionsgate. “We are excited to partner with Major League Gaming and Twitch, both leaders in the eSports world, to present this unprecedented movie tie-in aimed directly at those who take gaming seriously."
The United States-based tournament will feature 32 of the best StarCraft II players beginning with two qualifying rounds and culminating in one final competition. The players will be divided into two groups of 16 for qualifying matches airing on Twitch and MLG.TV. The first round will be broadcast on Twitch from February 5th to 9th and the second round will run from February 11th to 16th on MLG.TV (www.mlg.tv). The winners from each event, in addition to winning cash prizes, will advance to the Ender’s Game on Blu-ray Tournament: Championship Round taking place February 22nd and airing on Twitch. The StarCraft II player who wins the championship round will win a grand prize of $10,000.
“Lionsgate understands that gamers are more than a niche, they are everyone,” said Ben Goldhaber, Director of Content Marketing, Twitch. “By leveraging Twitch’s community of 45 million gamers, many of whom spend hours playing and watching sci-fi inspired games, creating an esport event around Ender’s Game on our platform makes perfect sense.”
“MLG’s global audience spend an average of 150 minutes a weekend watching professionally produced eSports content on MLG.TV and they look to fill the non-gaming hours of their day with action-packed entertainment and movies like Ender’s Game,” said Don Reilley, EVP Sales, Major League Gaming. “The Enders Game on Blu-ray Tournament is a perfect example of the great competitions and broadcasts that are possible with partners on the MLG.TV platform.”
MLG, in partnership with GameOn, will run the Ender’s Game on Blu-ray Tournament: MLG Round featuring 16 of the top StarCraft II players. MLG will directly invite 12 players, and fans have the opportunity to vote on the remaining four players. Voting will take place February 3rd to 5th at http://gameon.gg/.
Twitch is reaching out to key Starcraft communities and inviting them to send their top talent to compete in the Ender’s Game on Blu-ray Tournament: Twitch Round. The 16 players selected to compete in the qualifying round on Twitch were selected for being among the best StarCraft II players the United States has to offer. Fans of StarCraft II will be familiar and excited with the impressive line-up.
Please visit www.twitch.tv and www.mlg.com for more information on the Ender’s Game on Blu-ray Tournament.
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