Ryan ChaplySenior Esports Program ManagerTwitch Esports

Player First esports strategies that breed stars of the future and takes care of their every need Nurture a Compelling Narrative and tell the fascinating stories of the sportCreating esports formats that create a clear path to pro and aid game longevityAn accessible program for new fans and new players alike

WHAT IS TWITCH ESPORTS?Twitch works with Developers & Publishers to grow esports by building a sustainable ecosystem that looks after players and creates a narrative that every fan can enjoy.

• Increase the number of amateur tournaments and competitive players.

• Grass roots encourage a competitive culture around the game.

• Competitive players watch more and watchers play more.

• Low-level competition feeds the cycle of engagement around your game.

• Communities below the pro level are equally as important.

Pro LevelPlay

Competitive Organized Play

Community Events

ESPORTS ARCHITECTUREEsports are a consequence of competitive communities.Twitch wants to stimulate the growth of those communities from the ground up.

TYPICAL TWITCH EPM

League Ops

Legal & Finance

Esports Marketing & SocialCreative & Web

Dev

Production Management

Twitch Partnerships

Twitch Marketing

Twitch Sales

Twitch Engineering

Twitch Platform Products

Twitch Legal & Finance

BROADCASTS ESPORTS EVENTS

HOSTS ESPORTS EVENTS

OFFERS TEAM SPONSORSHIP

S

CREATES CUSTOM ESPORTS

STRATEGIES+ + +

TWITCH IS UBIQUITOUSTwitch is the ONLY platform that...

MAKING MOBILE ESPORTS TITLES

Initial Development

• Is the game fun?• Is there an inherent

competitive nature?• Form a hypothesis around

competitive player behavior.

• Does the technology allow for competitive viewing experiences?

Alpha / Beta

• Gather Feedback Regularly

• Competitive Player Behavior (what/how/where)

• Decide to commit to engineering competitive systems

• Foster Community Growth

Post Release

• Allocate resources with data

• Is competitive play driving desirable player behavior?

• Can the community support formal esports formats and events?

1 2 3

DON’T DESIGN A MOBILE ESPORTS GAMESuccessful esports titles are first and foremost great games!Always consider what competitive players are / will do in your ecosystemAllocated Continued Development Support

THINK ABOUT ESPORTS WHEN MAKING YOUR GAME

Source of Legitimacy

Product Marketing Vehicle

Revenue Stream

Community Growth

Long Tail Generation

Reach New Markets

WHAT IS THE GOAL

Think about esports early and it’s relation to the goals of your business

KEY QUESTIONS

WHAT IS THE NARRATIVEWhy do players

participate?

How do players get involved?

Why do players care?

How does esports contribute to the game experience?

Is the content valuable to casual players?

CREATING ORGANIZED PLAY IS A COMPLEX ENDEAVOUR

PARTNERSHIPS• Platforms such at Twitch can provide advice to full esports operation. • The esports production and event operation industry is growing rapidly• Competitive esports organizations grow reach and community interest in

titles• Utilize Passionate Player base (i.e. Multi-lingual rebroadcasts)

CHALLENGES• Mobile is an opportunity for competitive play experiences not afforded by

classic esports• The image of competitive play on mobile faces similar acceptance hurdles

to esports several years ago• High quality Mobile Game streaming is difficult

PARTNERSHIPS & CHALLENGES

Video ViewsUnique Viewers

& Minutes Watched

Attendance InternationalSupport

New Talent& Teams

Financial Stability

We define success of our esports broadcasts primarily with the following key metrics. Product integrations provide numerous additional potential KPIs

MEASURING SUCCESS

Data sharing is paramount to effective decision-making

Takeaways from successes and challenges in program

• Create operational escalation plans

• Plan events as early in advance as possible and stick to planning deadlines. Feature creep is not strictly a development challenge.

• International rebroadcasting represents 20-30% lift in viewership

• Set manageable schedules – avoid burnout!

• Data drives decision making. Oversharing is better than undersharing

• Regularly check to ensure programs match narrative goals and alignment

• Be flexible. Competitive play varies greatly by title, and great ideas come from many places. As do terrible ones.

• Players, Talent, Broadcasters, Production staff – they are all professionals and should be treated (and held accountable) as such.

LEARNINGS FROM VAINGLORY