Esports Mogul to launch Android version of Mogul Arena

Esports Mogul (ASX: ESH) is adding to its mobile gaming market presence after commencing development of a proprietary app to be made available on the Android app store.

The eSports company said that development is expected to be completed over the coming months with a view of debuting the app in December 2018.

The app is expected to enhance the Mogul Arena platform and provide additional access for Android users, a leading app marketplace rivalling Apple’s iOS store.

Mogul Arena is currently used by players to engage other players via a matchmaking system that’s fully automated for major eSports titles. However, Esports Mogul wants to expand the availability of its proprietary platform to more devices and a wider range of users.

Mogul Arena is already available in English, Thai and Vietnamese with concrete plans in place to roll out a localised language function in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Indonesian “in the near term”.

However, Esports Mogul’s prime developmental focus is mobile gaming.

Its newly Android app is being developed in-house by the Esports Mogul technology team, utilising the industry-leading “React Native framework” which is currently used by other gaming services such as Discord, a voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) application designed for gaming communities.

The next stage of development will see Esports Mogul developing its follow-up release in March next year which the company says will “boast native mobile eSports tournaments and additional features.”

“We’re very excited to begin engineering efforts of the new mobile experience and companion app. Here at Esports Mogul, we continue to push the boundaries of technology to bring our feature-rich esports systems to players worldwide – soon everyone will be able to experience them from the convenience of their smartphone,” said Travis Howle, chief technology officer of Esports Mogul.

Mobile gaming spree

Esports Mogul has revealed that it plans to develop a mobile version of Mogul Arena in two distinct developmental stages in order to maximise the potential offered by mobile games.

In 2016, the mobile games industry outperformed PC and console gaming for the first time in history, earning in excess of US$36 billion.

According to market analysts, the consistent rise of mobile and online gaming has been a contributing factor in the increasing popularity of games, even to a greater extent than other forms of entertainment.

Mobile gaming is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the broader gaming industry with around 25% growth year-on-year. According to industry-analytics reporter Newzoo, there were 2.2 billion gamers across the globe generating around US$109 billion from in-game revenues in 2017.

The research company estimates that mobile games constitute the most lucrative gaming segment, with smartphone and tablet gaming growing 19% year-on-year to US$46.1 billion and claiming 42% of the market.

Furthermore, it estimates that given current trends, by 2020, mobile gaming will represent more than half of the total games market and generate somewhere in the region of US$70 billion per year for game developers.

Mobile development aims

Esports Mogul said that for the first release of its Android app, its newly-developed app will replicate existing features of Mogul Arena whilst also enhancing the mainstay online platform with overlapping features.

Users will be able to access player and team profiles, tournament information and gameplay results instantly to their mobile devices, including the Razer Phone.

Esports Mogul and gaming hardware manufacturer Razer have agreed to collaborate on various eSports initiatives including an online currency.

Razer also made a significant investment in Esports Mogul earlier this year after leading a capital raising for the ASX eSports company.

According to Esports Mogul, this first phase of product development is positioned as a companion to the existing platform to satisfy both desktop and console esports gamers.

The second phase will be to release “version 2” in March 2019 to facilitate native mobile eSports tournaments on Android devices, as well as expanding access to the popular ‘Esports Elite’ feature of Mogul Arena.

Esports Mogul has confirmed that next year’s version will target “initial integration with leading mobile eSports titles including ‘Vainglory’ and ‘Mobile Legends’.”

Vainglory is a mobile eSports game published by US game developer ‘Super Evil Megacorp’ which can be played on both iOS and Android devices. The game has already amassed over 20 million users and has staged more than 1 billion matches.

Meanwhile, the other game being integrated is Mobile Legends, a mobile eSports game published by Moonton, with over 100 million registered users and around 10 million daily active players.

Kicking-off with two popular mobile titles, Esports Mogul says its proprietary app will also provide “semi-automated brackets for any game” including mobile and console titles such as NBA 2K.

“This is a logical next step for Esports Mogul and I’m confident that our team will bring innovation to the mobile gaming sector, collaborating with leading game developers and gaming organisations,” said Gernot Abl, managing director of Esports Mogul.