Guest post

UK retailer GAME Digital aims to have opened 35 Belong Arenas by the end of 2018 and eventually up to 100 or above overall.
The chain opened its first Belong competitive gaming store this time last year and has gone on to open several more throughout 2017.
Martyn Gibbs, GAME CEO, spoke with the Daily Telegraph recently to talk about GAME’s position at the moment, and its grassroots esports plans in the UK and Spain.
“The growth in esports viewership is significant, and I think we’re really well-placed to capitalise on that,” he said. “We had a tough first half to 2016/17 but market dynamics improved significantly in the second half.”
Elsewhere, esports betting has managed to become quite a big business in recent times. With a number of top tournaments being able to fill up arenas and teams taking home millions of dollars worth of prize money in the process, there’s a growing excitement around esports – and bookies are jumping on board.
GAME posted a pre-tax loss of £10m for the year ending July 29th 2017, down from a £1.1m profit generated the year prior, while sales fell 3.6% to £782.9m.
Esports is a growth area for GAME though; its events, esports and digital revenues leapt to £13.2m. It will certainly be an area of focus for the retailer over the next few years.
GAME bought game server hosting and events business Multiplay in early 2015 for £20m. Recently, GAME offloaded Multiplay’s hosting division to US-based game developer engine provider Unity Technologies for £19m.
GAME still owns the events business and will continue to run Insomnia gaming festivals.
Further reading: GAME is looking beyond esports with its Belong arenas – and that’s just what the scene needs

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