Another tech company has set its sights on the growing eSports industry.
While it seems like not much is going well for Yahoo recently—the company shut down almost all its verticals—the Internet giant announced that it has launched a new hub for competitive video gaming under its Yahoo Sports banner.
Bob Condor, vice president of Yahoo Sports Media, said the company has “identified an incredible opportunity” eSports, which already has “a global audience of more than 226 million.”
The new hub, Yahoo Esports, will feature editorial and video commentary mixed with match pages, team rosters, stats, related schedules and scores. The site will also have a live chat feature for fans who want to connect with the eSports community.
Yahoo said the initial focus will be around League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Heroes of the Storm, and Street Fighter V. Additional titles are expected to be added over time.
“We’re approaching our coverage of eSports with the same tenacity and professionalism we always have with Yahoo Sports, News and Finance,” Condor said in a statement. “Coupled with our experience in building great products, we’ve gone out and assembled an experienced and innovative content team that will cover eSports from every angle.”
This isn’t the first time Yahoo has shown interest in the world of competitive gaming. Late last year, the company was reportedly in talks to buy professional eSports organization Major League Gaming for an undisclosed sum, although it was Activision that emerged victorious and shelled out $46 million for the popular eSports tournament organizer.
Other media giants have also started investing in eSports coverage. ESPN, for instance, announced back in January that it will aggressively cover competitive gaming, starting with a section solely for articles and videos about professional leagues and tournaments for League of Legends and CS:GO, among others.
“The storyline was so compelling that we decided there was no reason we shouldn’t be doing this on a daily basis with the same rigor we cover the National League Football or other sports,” ESPN.com editor-in-chief Chad Millman said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
