Sony Just Acquired The World’s Biggest Fighting Game Tournament

Earlier today, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it acquired the assets and properties of the Evolution Championship Series (better known as EVO).

The acquisition of the world’s largest fighting game event is through a joint venture eSports partnership with RTS, a new eSports venture from private holdings company, Endeavor. Endeavor operates within the talent and media industry, representing the NFL, the NHL, the UFC and even Miss Universe.

The co-founders of EVO, Tony Cannon and Tom Cannon will remain as key advisors for the upcoming online event, scheduled for August 6th through 8th, then August 13th through 15th. Entry is free and players in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America will compete in events including Tekken 7, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, and Guilty Gear – Strive -. The online qualifiers will be live streamed for fans, and more details will be shared in the coming weeks on evo.gg.

For PlayStation, today’s announcement marks an exciting step in our journey to foster the growth of the fighting game community and esports, and support competitive gamers widely on our consoles. Fighting games are hugely popular on PlayStation consoles, with gamers logging more than 1.1 billion gameplay hours in 2020 alone. We’re committed to breaking down the barriers for gamers to compete at all levels and providing a best-in-class, global platform for them to showcase their skills and passion,” wrote Playstation in their blog post, detailing the acquisition. EVO reiterated this sentiment in a later Tweet,

Sony’s involvement in the event should surely be exciting news for fans of the tournament, which has been operating since 1996. Through the collaboration of industry giants paired with a passion for the fighting game community, fans should be confident that the tournament will grow and evolve in a positive manner.