Sony has just announced that they are jointly buying the Evolution Championship Series, widely known as Evo, with RTS, ”a new venture born out of Endeavor’s esports business.”
Tony and Tom Cannon, twin brothers who co-founded Evo, will remain on the event as “key advisors.” In a press release concerning the acquisition, Tony Cannon said, “Both companies bring a wealth of experience and share our passion for what makes the fighting game community so great. We are looking forward to working with them to launch Evo to the next level, while remaining true to our roots.”
The official Evo Twitter account released this statement about the acquisition:
A message to our community. For more information visit https://t.co/6JHZCsJsXrpic.twitter.com/uj0NKRW30m
— EVO (@EVO) March 18, 2021
Steven Roberts, VP of Global Competitive Gaming at Sony interactive, said in the press release that, “Fighting games have been a vital part of PlayStation’s legacy and our community since the very beginning, and we’ve been thrilled to partner with Evo over the years.” Roberts was echoed by Stuart Saw, the CEO of RTS, in the press release, adding that they had “so many exciting plans in store for this year and beyond.”
Evo, “the world’s latest fighting game event,” is set to continue operations as usual, returning this year with an online event after cancelling last year’s tournament altogether due to the pandemic and sexual assault charges leveled at their CEO at the time. Because of the online nature of this year’s event, Evo has prioritized games with superior netcodes. This means that while Super Smash Brothers Ultimate will not be at the show, you can expect other mainstays like Mortal Kombat 11, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, Tekken 7 as well as the upcoming Guilty Gear—Strive- to be featured among the tourney’s pools.
Evo Online is set to take place between Aug. 6-8 and 13-15.