One of Australia’s leading eSports companies, Esports Mogul (ASX: ESH), has provided an interim update regarding its operations and says it intends to remain the “world’s best deeply integrated and fully automated tournament platform”.
The company has also said that it’s currently “preparing for monetisation” by introducing several new features and further developing its proprietary eSports tournament platform, Mogul Arena.
One of the company’s most significant actions in recent months has been the hiring of new marketing chief Marian Kaufmann to drive marketing activities. Mr Kaufmann’s appointment is a move towards monetising its developmental efforts and to extend its eSports brand into various markets globally, but specifically, Asia.
Mr Kaufmann has extensive marketing experience coupled with eSports knowledge having served as an online market specialist at renowned gaming hardware manufacturer Razer, for almost 2 years.
According to Esports Mogul, Mr Kaufmann has offered an in-depth analysis of user behaviour and had already provided “considerable input” into the company’s wider strategy to accelerate user acquisition, since accepting the role in August.
Mr Kaufmann’s appointment is a move towards monetising its developmental efforts and to extend its eSports brand into additional markets globally.
Market presence
To underline its growing market presence, Mogul Arena was the platform provider for the Thailand Dota 2 qualifiers for Razer and Singtel’s PVP Esports Championship in September this year.
Throughout September, Mogul Arena hosted the Thailand qualifying tournaments for the PVP Esports Championship, a $300,000-prize money tournament organised by Singtel and Razer. The event had the support of major gaming companies including Razer and MET, two companies that serve as dedicated partners of Mogul Arena.
Supporting this qualifying tournament allowed Mogul Arena to be directly marketed to a wide range of esports enthusiasts across the globe, as well as pulling in a sell-out crowd at the live event.
To Asia with electronic sports
To establish a strong early position in eSports, Esports Mogul wants to attract gamers and gaming spectators from Asia and Latin America with multiple lines of development currently ongoing, specifically to develop its online Mogul Arena platform.
In parallel, the company is developing quirky innovations designed to attract the next generation of gaming fans. Esports Mogul company is currently developing its Mogul Android App with a pre-release version already undergoing quality and assurance testing.
A market-ready version of the Mogul App is planned for release in Q1 2019, delivering additional features for smartphone users. The second release will target integration with leading mobile eSports titles which intends to open up partnership opportunities within the mobile gaming niche – currently the fastest growing segment in gaming.
Another innovation being developed, with a view of monetising eSports growth in Australia and Asia, is Razer’s MOLPay. The platform was selected to power Esports Mogul’s monetisation strategy in Southeast Asia.
By integrating MOLPay, Esports Mogul and Mogul Arena will be able to accept in-game purchases and other transactions from all over Southeast Asia, regardless of the local currency. Esports Mogul will join the ranks of gaming industry stalwarts like Sony PlayStation, Facebook Gameroom, and Wargaming, all of whom are already using MOLPay to monetise their games and digital content in the region.
“Esports Mogul again had an incredibly strong third quarter driven by development of additional Mogul Arena product features, development of our Mobile App and preparing for monetisation by commencing the integration with MOLPay,” said Gernot Abl, managing director of Esports Mogul.
Mr Abl also confirmed that Esports Mogul “does not plan to slow down” going into year-end and intends to keep its developmental momentum next year.
In other news
In addition to bolstering its management team and continuing its growth and development in Asia, Esports Mogul has also completed development for a one of a kind tournament management system where partners and third-party organisers can independently create tournaments.
Esports Mogul has set out to create a highly intuitive and comprehensive solution that allows users to create custom-made tournaments and thereby facilitating a more immersive gaming experience for professional gamers and their fans.
The eSports company says it is confident this system will broaden its B2B partnerships, sponsorship opportunities and become a staple of the VIP Subscription feature.
The VIP subscription feature is expected to create a differentiated service from its standard offering, and thereby, generating an additional revenue stream for Esports Mogul.
Finally, the past few months have seen Esports Mogul adding more clout to its media relations efforts via the strengthening of its content platform, Mogul News, by merging GameGeek.gg to operate under the Mogul News brand.
Esports Mogul completed the acquisition of GameGeek, a leading eSports news portal that connects fans with various events and eSports-related news.
The rationale behind the move is to establish a solid online presence not only within eSports tournament infrastructure but also to maintain an ongoing marketing and news reporting presence that’s expected to supplement the company’s prime aim of expanding the market coverage of Mogul Arena.
