Microsoft acquires esports tournament platform Smash.gg
Published: Dec 3, 2020 - Last Updated: Jul 22, 2023
This quarter has seen Microsoft make some major acquisitions that place them at the forefront of the console wars. Back in October they purchased Zenimax Media and with it, the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and Dishonored series of games. That was a purchase that focused on single-player individual experiences. Now, with the purchase of esports tournament platform Smash.gg they are angling to get ahead in the competitive multiplayer arena as well.
Smash.gg
Smash.gg is a San Francisco based esports tournament platform that, as the name suggests, began by organizing Super Smash Bros tournaments. They have since expanded to include other titles, but they remain firmly rooted in the fighting genre. The company has an impressive suite of tools that allows grassroots and professional tournament organizers to handle payments, manage events, and track detailed analytics. A recent large tournament was the Rocket League Spring Series, which is a fantastic tournament to check out if you want to get a handle on Rocket League betting odds.
Announcements
Smash.gg announced the acquisition via a statement on the front page of their website:
“Since we started in 2015, our goal has been to build active esports scenes around the games people love to play. Today we’re excited to take the next step in that journey by joining Microsoft to help strengthen our existing relationships and explore new opportunities. Smash.gg will continue as a self-service esports platform available to tournament organizers from all game communities. If you have any questions about existing tournaments please reach out to [email protected].”
Unlike the Zenimax acquisition in October, Microsoft was relatively quiet about the purchase, the biggest post from the company about it came from the MSN esports twitter account:
Details of the announcement
The announcement lacks detail so there is not a huge amount of information available as to what changes we might begin to see. In a tweet from Smash.gg they did alleviate some concerns that could come from current users of the site:
“With this acquisition, the Smash.gg community and tournament organizers will continue to benefit from the Smash.gg platform, while our team will now benefit from additional resources and support as part of the Microsoft Content Services team. For now, it’s business as usual as our combined team continues to support our community and tournament organizers. We’re excited about this acquisition’s potential to further empower the esports community and expand Smash.gg’s reach and scale”
The future of the platform
We could begin to see Microsoft integrate smaller or more niche esports tournaments into their current ecosystem and provide their news skew MSN with a far more detailed and in-depth esports analysis by using the tools that Smash.gg have already developed.
This is a good move for both parties, Smash.gg has spoken out on Reddit in recent months about the effect Covid-19 has had on their business,
“There are always lots of conversations going on about what we need to do to continue to grow and serve the community. That has sometimes included talks about acquisition or combination with services.”
The acquisition allows the company to continue to provide tools for esports organizers and potentially saved the platform.
Featured Image Credits: @smash.gg
