POTOMAC, Jan 26 — After testing the waters in 2018, both Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds are unveiling bigger esports plans for 2019.
Fortnite will be part of major esports tournament IEM Katowice this March, while PUBG is intending to funnel a portion of league revenue towards its pro-tier teams.
The ESL's Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2019 event will hold a World Invitational Fortnite tournament from March 1 to March 3.
The Poland-based esports event has been running since 2007 and serves as a major destination for a number of big money world series.
As well as the US$500,000 (RM2.1 million) Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and US$412,000 Starcraft 2 World Championships, this year's edition will in fact feature hugely popular 100-player console and computer game Fortnite on two separate occasions.
A US$100,000 tournament for Polish players is scheduled for February 23 and 24, before a US$500,000 international event running March 1 to 3.
"Fortnite" developer Epic Games had previously held a Pro-Am celebrity tournament during the June 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
As for fellow battle royale game PUBG, developer PUBG Corp. has pledged various subsidies and an additional 25 per cent revenue share from the sale of in-game team and league digital items as far as top-tier North American and European League teams are concerned. — AFP-Relaxnews
