Malta hosts its first eSports Forum
With the popularity of competitive gaming on the rise worldwide, Malta hosted its first eSports Forum, with the main aim of “improving eSports knowledge and helping the evolution of gaming entertainment”.
Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri is planning to launch a strategy to “provide the ideal landscape for eSports athletes, business, and tournaments to thrive”. While this needs the necessary infrastructure, it makes for an ideal environment in Malta’s current gaming ecosystem and Home of Gaming Excellence credentials.
Schembri encouraged training programmes, boot camps, and development courses on team leadership and physical wellness, announcing that they are working on hosting the first eSport international tournament through Gaming Malta.
Malta will be hosting the ‘Trojan Horse was a Unicorn’ conference for the first time between the 24th and 29th of September. The conference is targeted at creators from all areas of the digital enter- tainment industry, including sound designers, game and VR developers, entrepreneurs, marketers and digital artists of all kinds.
Gaming Malta’s Head of Operations and Business Development Ivan Filletti pushed this strategy forward as he believes that the eSports Forum can help Malta serve as a catalyst between eSports and iGaming. He further added that Malta will be one of the exhibitors in Gamescom in Cologne for the first time.
Chief Executive Officer for Eden Leisure Group Simon Decesare reiterated the group’s commitment to be at the forefront of innovation in this industry. His company has embarked on a variety of projects to provide areas for eSport athletes, particularly to host a large international eSports tournament.
eSports is a growing sector and whilst it has been looked down upon as little more than a hobby, people are starting to take notice as markets around the world raked in $655 million worldwide in 2017, and that figure is projected to hit $1.5billion by 2020.