IBM to help power interactive and analytical content for the
Overwatch League, engaging fans and players through
cloud, IBM's Watson artificial
intelligence, and machine learning
ARMONK, N.Y. and IRVINE,
Calif., Oct. 9, 2020
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, IBM and the Overwatch League™, the
world's first global esports league with 20 city-based teams,
announced its first-of-a-kind multi-year deal to bring IBM's
cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to
esports. A sponsorship component kicks off at this year's 2020
Overwatch League Grand Finals, which started Oct. 8 and
run through Oct. 10. With the
agreement – IBM's first-ever esports deal – the technology leader
becomes the official AI, cloud, and analytics sponsor of the
Overwatch League. The deal covers the 2020 Grand Finals and the
entirety of the 2021 and 2022 Overwatch League seasons.
Through the course of the deal, IBM and the Overwatch League
plan to leverage IBM's suite of advanced cloud and
AI products. Starting in 2021, IBM and the Overwatch League
will be working closely to develop technology solutions leveraging
IBM's expertise in natural language processing and machine
learning to improve the league's rankings system, and utilize
IBM's Watson AI capabilities to create live and in-broadcast
predictive analysis, with specific solutions currently under
development.
"We're constantly striving to give fans the ability to more
meaningfully engage with the Overwatch League, and teaming up with
IBM enables us to do just that," said Brandon Snow, Chief Revenue Officer of
Activision Blizzard Esports. "IBM's cutting-edge AI and
machine learning, underpinned by cloud technologies, will
help enable us to bring interactive and innovative engagement
opportunities to our fans and teams. This is a fantastic benefit to
our viewers, and we're very excited to be announcing it
during the biggest event of our season."
"We're thrilled to bring our world class Cloud platforms and
Watson portfolio to one of the leading esports platforms in the
world," said Noah Syken, Vice
President of Sports & Entertainment Partnerships, IBM. "The
solutions we're partnering to create can help the organizations,
players, and fans enjoy an even more immersive, engaging
experience. We look forward to working with the Overwatch
League, to bring innovative solutions at scale, to broad and
relevant audiences."
The sponsorship with the Overwatch League will kick off in 2021
and include new solutions, that plan to be hosted on the IBM Cloud.
Those solutions, which are currently under development, will
leverage IBM's suite of analytics tools to process in-match
data, adding Watson's AI capabilities through the use of Watson
Machine Learning and the AutoAI functionality within Watson
Studio. Additionally, the solutions will find new ways to showcase
the wide array of historical statistics that the
Overwatch League gets from live play.
The announcement of IBM and the Overwatch League teaming
together is IBM's first foray into the global world of esports and
joins an impressive list of sports and entertainment
partnerships that IBM technology powers around the world. IBM
has been a part of gaming history as a hardware manufacturer, chip
creator, and software provider for developers since 1985. Over the
past 35 years, IBM has worked with gaming and esports entities
through PowerPC processors, NLP, and cloud technology.
IBM has been a long-time partner to a range of sports
organizations, teams, and events, including tennis (US Open
and Wimbledon), golf (The Masters), football (via ESPN Fantasy
Football), and the GRAMMY Awards. Through IBM's partnerships,
including IBM's new engagement with the Overwatch League, IBM is
able to reimagine sports, and
entertainment experiences for fans, players and coaches
alike, leveraging the flexibility of the hybrid cloud, and
other AI-powered solutions.
About IBM
For more information about IBM,
visit ibm.com/news.
About the Overwatch League™
The Overwatch League™ is
the first major global professional esports league with city-based
teams across Asia, Europe, and North
America. Overwatch® was created by globally acclaimed
publisher Blizzard Entertainment (a division of Activision
Blizzard—Nasdaq: ATVI), whose iconic franchises have helped lay the
foundations and push the boundaries of professional esports over
the last 15 years. The latest addition to Blizzard's stable of
twenty-two #1 games,* Overwatch was built from the ground up
for online competition, with memorable characters and fast-paced
action designed for the most engaging gameplay and spectator
experiences. To learn more about the Overwatch League, visit
www.overwatchleague.com.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for
blockbuster hits, including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®,
Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and
the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment,
Inc. (https://www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision
Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of
entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's
most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track
record includes twenty-two #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year
awards. The company's online gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®,
is one of the largest online-gaming services in the world, with
millions of active players.
*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records
and reports from key distributors.
About Activision Blizzard Esports
Activision Blizzard
Esports (ABE) is responsible for the development, operation, and
commercialization of Activision Blizzard's professional gaming
properties including the Overwatch League™, the Call of
Duty® League™, Call of Duty Challengers™,
Hearthstone® Masters, StarCraft® II
esports, Warcraft® III:
Reforged™, and the World of
Warcraft® Arena World Championship and
Mythic Dungeon International, among others. ABE also operates
Tespa, the leader in collegiate esports. It is ABE's vision to be
the most innovative, scalable, and valuable developer of global
competitive entertainment.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves the Overwatch
League's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding
the future, including statements about the collaboration with IBM,
including the development of technology solutions, are
forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause the Overwatch
League's actual future results to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this
release include unanticipated product delays, the COVID-19 pandemic
and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of
Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and
any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking
statements in this release are based upon information available to
the Overwatch League and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this
release, and neither the Overwatch League nor Activision Blizzard
assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of the Overwatch League or
Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from current
expectations.
Contacts
IBM
Angelena
Abate
Angelena.Abate@IBM.com
Overwatch League
Kevin Scarpati
kscarpati@overwatchleague.com
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SOURCE IBM