The Rise of Esports

Cox’s investment in a new Overwatch League expansion team was recently featured in an Atlanta Magazine story about the burgeoning esports scene in Atlanta. 

READ: Atlanta bought an Overwatch eSports team. Here’s why you should care.  

In July, Cox Enterprises announced it was joining with the consulting firm Province Inc. to form Atlanta Esports Ventures, which will own and operate a new Atlanta Overwatch League team: the Atlanta Reign. 

Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer video game, with organized competitions among professional players designed for spectator experience.

Professional video game competitions are still a head-scratching phenomenon for older generations (if they’ve even heard of esports). But they sell out stadiums and draw in television and web audiences by the hundreds of thousands.  

In fact, esports is the fastest growing sport in the world, which is why Cox has taken an interest.  

“It helps [Cox Enterprises] align with a new demographic,” Dallas Clement, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Cox Enterprises, told the magazine. “Young folks who are enormously enthusiastic about esports and gaming will possibly think of Cox as a place to come and work.”  

Traditional sports outlets like ESPN have taken notice (the network airs online gaming competitions during primetime spots) and even Newsweek, Bloomberg and the Washington Post have highlighted Cox’s foray into the world of esports.  

With the proximity of the world’s largest airport, the Atlanta Magazine story points out that the city is the perfect geographical location to be a hub for gamers in the Southeast. There are hundreds of gaming companies operating in the metro Atlanta area, thanks in part to tax credits created for the film industry. 

The 2019 Overwatch League season kicks off on Feb. 14, 2019 and runs through summer 2019. For more information on the Overwatch League, visit www.overwatchleague.com. You can also follow the Atlanta Reign on Twitter @ATLReign and on Facebook at Facebook.com/ATLReign.