Esports documentary will debut with live StarCraft competition

Playing games for a living is hard work. And that’s why By Experience is building a StarCraft event around a documentary about esports, dubbed All Work All Play: The Pursuit of eSports Glory.

By Experience specializes in organizing events at movie theaters, and it is teaming up with the filmmakers, StarCraft maker Blizzard Entertainment, and esports league ESL to create a livestreamed event for the debut of the documentary.

At the live event, a number of esports stars will compete in a tournament for Blizzard’s new expansion game, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. The Legacy of the Void is the first major StarCraft release since 2013.

Fans will be able to attend the event at ESL Studios in Burbank, Calif., or watch it any of the participating movie theaters (up to 2,000 of them) throughout North America. The star players include Chris “Huk“ Loranger, Kevin “qxc“ Riley, Brandon “puCK“ Loranger, and Geoff “iNcontroL“ Robinson. The event will be broadcast on July 21, and it will be hosted by Joshua “Clutch” Gray.

The event will feature a live Q&A between the global audience and Patrick Creadon, the director of the film; Michal Blicharz, the director of pro gaming at ESL; and pro eSports gamers.

Julie Borchard-Young, co-president of By Experience said the event will give fans a unique opportunity to participate in an esports experience at a local cinema.

The film is a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows the ascent of esports. It showcases some of the best pro gamers in the world as they fought for the Intel Extreme Masters championship earlier this year. The film will screen during the live special event and again on July 28 in Europe.

Top professional StarCraft II players and gamers will battle it out in a 2v2 “Archon Mode” match in StarCraft II, Legacy of the Void. In that mode, two players share control of a single base and units. The game is currently in beta testoing.

The commentators for the event include Nathanias Fabrikant and Andre “Gretorp” Henchua. By Experience handles digital events at movie theaters and other locations. It has sold 23 million tickets to date since it did a live broadcast of David Bowie’s Reality album in 2003.