LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — Twitch might not be the right platform for mobile esports, according to Ramon Hermann, director of esports at Tencent Games.
He told The Daily Walkthrough Wednesday that Tencent is still trying to figure out what the ideal format is for mobile esports consumption.
“What’s the right broadcast format for us to use? Right now, it’s still following what you would see on Twitch, or PC or console. It’s those big chunks of broadcast,” Ramon said.
Tencent’s Arena of Valor — a mobile esport played on phones — wrapped up its Valor Series North American championship during E3 2018. Next up is the Arena of Valor World Cup that boasts a $550,000 prize pool; it will be held sometime in later July.
“Our player behavior or platform where they consume media is just different from [non-mobile] esports,” Ramon continued. The premium mobile experience is “probably not going to be the second screen experience of Twitch on your PC screen.”
Arena of Valor matches are considerably shorter and faster than esports like League of Legends. Arena games are often 10-15 minutes, whereas League games can stretch more than an hour in length.
In the end, Ramon said the priority is finding “a format you can consume easily on your phone. Shorter and more digestible pieces of matches to watch.”
And at least right now, that format doesn’t seem to be Twitch.
Katie Frates is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Walkthrough. Follow Katie on Twitter and Facebook, and signup for The Daily Walkthrough for the latest on gaming and esports.