Sony has acquired Evo, the long-running fighting game tournament.
Sony Interactive Entertainment co-owns the tournament, which has been running for twenty-five years, alongside a new esports ventured called RTS.
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Sony Acquires Evo Tournament, No Platform Barriers Added
“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,” Sony explained via a statement.
“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.”
The tournaments co-founders, Tom and Tony Cannon, will act in "advisory roles" when the competition resumes in an online-only format later this year.
Mark Julio, the competition's business development lead, has affirmed that Evo's cross-platform nature will not be affected by the acquisition.
In a tweet, Julio explained that "the teams at PlayStation and RTS are enabling us to continue working with our community to support fighting games.”
“In order to deliver on the trust you have all put in EVO, we realise that we need an experienced strategic partner who truly respects that spirit of the FGC."
This year's event will take place on August 6th to 8th, and August 13th to 15th, and will showcase Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate, and Guilty Gear: Strive.
Of those titles, only Street Fighter 5 is a PlayStation console exclusive.
Nintendo has released a statement on the acquisition:
“Nintendo has enjoyed engaging with fans at past Evo tournaments and wish the show organizers the best with their new venture. We will continue to assess Evo, and other opportunities, as we plan for future online and offline Super Smash Bros. tournament activity.”