Vainglory snags Amazon Appstore as a major esports sponsor

Esports continues to mature, as mobile esports company Super Evil Megacorp announced today it has snared the Amazon Appstore as a premier sponsor for its summer 2016 esports season in North America and Europe.

Super Evil is trying to turn the mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game into an esport, and it’s not easy. But landing major speakers is a part of monetizing the esports community, and Amazon Appstore is coming in as a platinum sponsor.

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The Vainglory Summer season begins today and runs through September 11. The top eight teams per region will compete at the Summer Live Championships in North America (September 2 to September 5) and Europe (September 9 to September 11) in front of a live audience.

As part of the program, Amazon will host the championships, which are expected to set record viewing and participation numbers for Vainglory’s esports events. In addition, the Amazon Appstore will be rewarding players throughout the season with discounts and bonus Amazon Coins, the digital currency that lets customers save up to 25 percent off in-app purchases. The season’s competitive structure and events are managed by Super Evil Megacorp and Twitch as part of their multi-year deal to enhance and grow Vainglory esports events.

“We’ve been working closely with Amazon since our inaugural Autumn Season Championship, and their passion for and dedication to Vainglory is going to make our Summer season the biggest and best yet,” said Kristian Segerstrale, chief operating officer and executive director at Super Evil Megacorp, in a statement. “Amazon’s support, along with the continued work from our friends at Twitch, will allow us to put on a top-notch season for Vainglory’s community of millions. We’re excited to kick off the Summer Season today in cooperation with the Amazon Appstore.”

“The Twitch community has shown a lot of love for Vainglory, making it the fastest-growing mobile game on our platform,” said Nick Allen, director of esports operations at Twitch, in a statement. “Touchscreen esports has a lot of potential right now given the ratio of mobile devices to PCs, with Vainglory on track to really blow the doors wide open on this movement. Adding more momentum is the new Evil Eight competitive structure, which will make broadcasts of Vainglory even more engaging for viewers.”