Globe Telecom goes full throttle in building its Esports portfolio after successfully staging its first SEA open Esports tournament with Globe Conquerors Manila 2018, where a prize pool of $250,000 was up for grabs.
On the back of more pervasive LTE network, accelerating mobile broadband growth, Globe is spearheading the development of the Esports ecosystem by providing its customers with internationally seeded tournaments, streaming content, and exclusive gaming promos.
Jake San Diego, Head of Games for Globe, revealed that the company is excited to tap the commercial potential of Esports and video games in the Philippines. “We will build the ecosystem needed to boost the commercial potential of Esports and games in the country,” San Diego said.
This year, Globe introduced GoWATCH and PLAY, a special offer for its existing GoSURF and GoSAKTO promos. It includes an additional free 2GB data for playing Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends, Clash of Clans, and Clash Royale.
The integration of Esports and video games into existing mobile data promos contributed to the 39 percent increase of total Globe mobile data traffic, which reached 390 petabytes for the first half of 2018. The company’s total mobile data revenue, which includes video games and entertainment content, reached P25.6 billion for the first half of 2018, which is 26 percent higher versus the same period last year.
According to newzoo.com, an international market intelligence and data site specializing in games, mobile, and ESports, there were a total of 29.9 million video gamers in the Philippines in 2017, spending a total of $354.2 million. This ranked the country at 29th in the world in terms of total revenue. With close to 30 million Filipino video gamers, the lion’s share is using the Globe network.
By 2021, there will be 48 million video gamers in the Philippines, accounting for about 47 percent of the population, some data analysts predict.
Market analysts are now projecting the number of Esports fans to grow by over 50 percent in 2019 to 500 million people globally. According to research firms, the industry is seen to generate revenues of $1 billion per year. Industry experts see the potential for this market to grow to $10 billion – $20 billion eventually.
In the past year, Globe has inked best-in-class partnerships with League of Legends developer, Riot; Garena, the publisher of Arena of Valor and Philippine publisher of League of Legends; and premiere Esports events organizer, Mineski. The unique partnership between Globe and Riot, Garena, and Mineski provides Esports fans and gamers new and exciting events, including new tournament formats and video game promotions exclusive only to Globe customers.
