Shanghai to establish municipal eSports teams

On May 14, Shanghai released a three-year cultural development plan (2018-2020) at an official press conference. As an important part of the culture and creative industries of the city, eSports has been given special attention.

The city will start from the eye-catching animation in the gaming industry, introducing top domestic and international eSports tournaments as well as giving supports to events, teams and venues, according to Yu Xiufen, director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV.

At the same time, Shanghai also has plans to build municipal teams that can represent Shanghai level, Shanghai style, and the Shanghai image, aiming to shape an internationally renowned eSports brand, and explore the athlete registration system in the field of eSports.　　

As shown in the 2017 China Gaming Industry Report, the country’s eSports industry increased its revenue to more than CNY73bn (USD11bn) from about CNY50bn in 2016, with its mobile eSports market alone soaring to 104 percent.

According to Sun Jing, a post-doctoral researcher at Beijing International Studies University, Shanghai revealed a number of measures in recent years to boost the city’s cultural and creative industries, one of which is to become the “eSports capital” of the world.

The city is now making efforts to encourage investment in the construction of eSports stadiums, develop eSports industrial parks, bring in more international tournaments, and incubate local eSports brands.

Source: eastday

Proofread by William Logsdon