Gfinity PLC Exclusive Partnership with Microsoft (3775C)

TIDMGFIN

RNS Number : 3775C

Gfinity PLC

13 April 2017

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Gfinity plc

("GFIN" or the "Company")

Exclusive partnership with Microsoft - Forza Racing Championship

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading eSports business, announces that it has been appointed as the official global tournament partner for Microsoft's Turn 10 Studios' Forza Racing Championship ("Forza RC") on Xbox.

This exclusive partnership with Microsoft helps to further establish Gfinity as an industry leader in international eSports tournament design and execution.

Forza RC is a four week competition beginning with an invitational event at Microsoft's flagship store on Fifth Avenue, New York, showcasing 18 of ForzaRC's Elite players from around the world. Following the invitational event, players can then participate in two different competitions: in Forza Motorsport 6 for Elite drivers and Forza Horizon 3 for casual players. Each gamer will get an opportunity to race in a wide variety of Porsche models over these four weeks of intense competition, culminating in a finals event at an undisclosed location, where the winners will take home $100,000 in cash prizes.

Gfinity will provide the bespoke platform technology which will host the tournament and broadcast both the online and offline Forza RC competitions around the world for the first time via Twitch, a video platform and community for gamers.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer, Gfinity plc, said: "Everyone at Gfinity is extremely proud to be appointed by Microsoft to manage their prestigious Forza Racing Championship and our technology and expertise means we are capable of showcasing such an important tournament. Gfinity has spent years dedicated to building the best eSports tournament designs and platforms in the world, and we are beginning to receive international recognition for it. Microsoft and Xbox have always been at the forefront in gaming, and we are looking forward to working closely with their world class team to deliver the most exciting and engaging Forza tournament ever."

Enquiries:

 
 Gfinity plc                           www.gfinityplc.com 
 Neville Upton, Chief Executive        Via Walbrook PR 
  Officer 
 
 Allenby Capital Limited - Nominated   Tel. [phone] 
  Adviser and Broker                    5656 
 Jeremy Porter / John Depasquale 
  / James Thomas 
 
 Walbrook PR (Media & Investor         Tel: +44 (0)20 
  Relations)                            7933 8780 
 Paul Cornelius / Sam Allen / Paul     or [e-mail] 
  Whittington 
 

About Gfinity

Founded in 2012, Gfinity has quickly established itself as one of the world's leading eSports companies. The London-based business enjoys strong relationships with game publishers, players and the wider eSports community and has already built a strong reputation for delivering high quality competitions, both on-line and off-line, and producing industry leading eSports broadcasts.

The Company has over half a million registered users, eligible to compete in its online competitions and stages world leading off-line events, which see the top players in the world, across a range of eSports titles travel to the Gfinity Arena in London to take part in competitions, which are broadcast on-line to millions of viewers around the world. The Company stages events featuring a number of top video gaming titles, across PCs, consoles and mobile devices.

The Company monetises the strong position that it has created through a combination of sponsorship, advertising, broadcast income relating to Gfinity's own events and through fees received for creating and delivering bespoke events for sponsors and game publishers seeking to engage with the eSports community.

About eSports

eSports (electronic sports) is watching or playing competitive video gaming. Leading titles include League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Defence of the Ancients 2 (DoTA 2), Call of Duty and Rocket League. The industry is growing rapidly, with new communities developing around more and more titles. The global eSports market generated US$325 million of revenue in 2015 and is expected to make $463 million in 2016. The global eSports audience in 2015 was 226 million people, 80% under the age of 35 and 70% male (source: Newzoo). Online streaming channels Twitch and YouTube command the biggest audiences, although eSports events are also now being broadcast on conventional TV. The 2015 League of Legends Championships finals in Berlin were watched by 36 million people, with a peak concurrent viewership of 14 million viewers, while at DotA 2's flagship annual championship 'The International 2016' competitors from around the world competed for a prize pot of over $20 million.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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April 13, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)