RISE Worldwide Limited (RISE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, and BLAST Esports Limited (BLAST), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BLAST ApS, on Wednesday announced an agreement to form a joint venture to conduct esports business in India, the company said in a release.
The strategic partnership will form a new JV entity and it will bring together BLAST’s esports media production expertise, publisher relationships, suite of highly popular IPs, and Jio’s technology expertise, distribution reach, and local relationships to host these events on the JioGames platform for sustainable growth and innovation in the industry. The partnership will help to accelerate this growth by bringing BLAST’s globally recognised esports properties and production techniques to India while co-creating new tournament IPs tailored to the fast-growing gaming market.
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The JV will cater to the entire esports spectrum:
– Services to publishers and sponsors
– End-to-end tournament management
– Targeted marketing
– Production and broadcasting
India is the fastest growing gaming market with a massive gamer base of more than 600 million (18 per cent of the total gamers globally). India’s gaming market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 19 per cent to reach $9.2 billion by 2029 from $3.8 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, the global esports market is expected to grow to $16.7 billion by 2033 from $2.8 billion in 2024, exhibiting a CAGR of around 22 per cent.
Robbie Douek, CEO for BLAST, said, “By partnering with Reliance, a market leader with unparalleled expertise and reach in India, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the local esports scene to new heights. BLAST has a proven track record of delivering world-class tournaments and entertainment for global audiences, and we can’t wait to bring that expertise to India. This joint venture will not only help grow the Indian esports ecosystem but also create new pathways for local talent to shine on the global stage.”
Devang Bhimjyani, Head of Reliance Sports, said, “We are very confident that with this partnership, India esports will be able to realise its full potential. With this JV, Reliance will extend its interest in sports into esports and leverage RISE’s ability to market and promote sporting events and teams,
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