A Chinese mobile electronic sports (e-sports) alliance was established over the weekend, domestic news portal qq.com reported Saturday.
Wang Sicong, the son of Dalian Wanda Group Co Chairman Wang Jianlin, became the first chairman of the alliance, which will have a rotating presidency.
The alliance includes 12 companies that design and distribute online and mobile games such as Beijing Kunlun Tech Co and Perfect World Co, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, respectively. Four other companies related to the e-sports industry also joined the league, one of which is Panda TV, a game-streaming service backed by Wang Sicong in July, qq.com said Saturday.
With the number of mobile device users growing rapidly, the mobile e-sports sector is expected to expand as well, Liu Zhigang, secretary-general of the alliance, was quoted as saying in the report. "The alliance aims for more cooperation between companies to help the country's e-sports industry grow," he said.
Online game providers and operators will be able to introduce more qualified games into a so-called "Hero Pro League", a new platform under the alliance designed for diversified e-sports events, domestic news portal ifeng.com reported Sunday. To attract more players to those events, a prize is being offered of 200,000 yuan ($31,506) in cash, according to ifeng.com.
China's mobile e-sports industry is expected to generate 5.09 billion yuan in revenue in 2015 and maintain a growth rate of 35 percent in the coming years, according to a report released by Beijing-based market research firm iResearch on October 22.
More and more companies including game developers and capital firms have entered the market since mid-2015 growth, the report said.
