Is Sony eyeing the eSports market?

Whilst attendees at the Sony Paris Games Week await the anticipated announcement of the company’s venture into the booming eSports sector, bloggers claiming insider knowledge have revealed details of Sony plans.

IGN.com claims that the new initiative has already seen the launch of a PlayStation Plus League website accessible for PS4 users and including games like FIFA16, Street Fighter and Battlefield Hardline.

The roll-out will apparently include different Silver and Gold levels of championship action featuring 32-player teams competing for significant cash prizes.

In related news, sixty-two-year-old Russian steel and mining oligarch, Alisher Usmanov, reputed to be the third wealthiest man in his home country, has decided to invest $100 million of his $13.5 billion fortune in eSports.

The investment will be made over two years to Virtus.pro, a Russian eSports clan that specialises in Counter-Strike and Dota 2 competitive e-gaming, according to its marketing chief, Alexei Nazarov.

Usmanov’s investment decision in the booming vertical was possibly influenced by a similar move by his partner in business, Yuri Milner, who earlier this year invested $26 million in California-based Super Evil Megacorp, creator of hit touchscreen multiplayer online battle arena game Vainglory.

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