PlayBrain, a 2016-founded Japanese company, has obtained funding to arrange esports LOL events in Japan. Up to date, the company collected $1.9 million for financing League of Legends events.
Funding Sources
The company has collected funds from several sources. It includes notable help from Berlin Bitkraft Esports Ventures, famous leading esports investment enterprise. The company will utilize money to spread the team, increase growth and support expenses of development, operation and initiation of League of Legends Japan league. According to the report published by Newzoo market research company, Japanese players are going to spend $19.2 billion in the gaming sector, which will position the gaming market in third place in the world.
About PlayBrain
PlayBrain was created with a goal in mind to provide advertising and marketing for the gaming sector. Founder Mike Sheetal, together with dedicated team members, Keisuke Takaso and Satoshi Kasahara, made tremendous effort to focus on competitive gaming solutions. The companyˈs mission is to help brands get in contact with gamers and fans with esports and marketing generation. It serves to leading clients including Riot Games, Twitch, Blizzard Entertainment and Electronic Art among others.
The upcoming deal with Esports Ventures is considered the first Western investment in the Japanese esports market.
Reactions
Commenting the latest happenings in the local industry, Sheetal said:
“As a company that is multicultural and multilingual, we see ourselves as a bridge connecting the Japanese competitive gaming community to the rest of the world,” said PlayBrain founder Mike Sheetal in a statement. The investment from Bitkraft Esports Ventures will enable us, and the Japanese esports market as a whole, to gain more ground in the global esports industry by developing the next generation esports cultural products born out of Tokyo’s distinct youth culture and helping foreign brands effectively enter, and engage, with Japan’s gaming community.
Gaming in Japan
The Japanese gaming market collects more than 60 million people who engage in gaming on a regular basis. Local gamers are willing to contribute more to overall gaming experiences and to connect with betting providers.
Only in 2018, the Japanese esports industry marked significant growth of 1300%. The prediction says that the industry will continue to enhance, reaching a peak of 10 billion yen by 2022. Talking about worldwide esports trends, there are over 380 million people which regularly follow esports events with 53% coming from the Asia Pacific region.
Source:
“PlayBrain obtains funding to stage League of Legends esports in Japan“, Niji Ng, europeangaming.eu, March 1, 2019.
