“Players will vote on independent reps to be their voice in league decisions and the Association will provide easy access to core resources like skills training, financial planning and legal help. We’ll be funding the launch of the Association, however the representation that the players vote on and elect is responsible solely to them. The goal is that this Association is an independent voice of the players to work with Riot and the teams. It’s our hope and expectation that as the association grows, the players assume full financial control over the organization.”
SuperData has already weighed in on the move, suggesting that the e-sports market will “rally” as Riot is “finally formulating a clear strategy around its competitive gaming effort,” setting a precedent for other studios anf their leagues (including Overwatch, which is nowhere near as transparent yet) and stabilizing the advertising and sponsorship market.
In other e-sports news, Kleiner Perkins’ Internet Trends Report released this week with a first-ever game-centric section, as reported by Gamasutra. The VC group has noted that so-called millennials as as likely to follow e-sports as they are real sports, a marked shift from Gen X responses.
