A curious kind of crossover
With China’s e-sports industry booming, an increasingly disparate band of companies are jostling for a piece of the pie — and in increasingly ingenious ways.
One example of this cross-pollination is Chinese logistics service giant SF Express’ linkup with Tencent’s multiplayer tactics combat game CrossFire.
The partnership will see airdrop supply crates and care packages bearing the SF Express logo added into the game.
“Our cooperation is surprising to many people, and we are also curious and positive where the cooperation could lead us to,” said Johnson Wei, head of the sales center of SF Express Delivery Business Group, at the launch of CrossFire’s mobile version in Shenzhen on Thursday.
“In the logistics field, SF always provides customers with safe, fast and convenient services. CrossFire, on the other hand, meets users’ social and entertainment needs.
“But to deliver a better life experience to people is our shared belief and the foundation of this cooperation.”
CrossFire is exploring similar deals with a diverse range of companies, including Chinese bike-sharing giant Mobike, fast food retailer KFC and luxury car brand Buick.
“CrossFire crosses everything, and we are veterans of crossover business cooperation,” said Joses Zhu, general manager of the Cooperative Group’s marketing department within Tencent IEG.
“In the future, we will have crossover cooperation with other brands to build a crossover e-sports ecosystem that delivers more surprising experiences for users.”