Local esports startup inks exclusive partnership with its third major gaming publisher – Philadelphia Business Journal

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 PlayVS, a Los Angeles-based amateur esports platform, has added a third exclusive partnership to its portfolio of gaming publishers.  <br>     <a href="https://bizjournals.com/losangeles/search/results?q=Delane Parnell" class="article-content-item">Delane Parnell</a> launched <a href="https://www.playvs.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PlayVS</a> (pronounced play versus) in 2017. The startup announced in late January that it had inked a deal to obtain the official licenses to exclusively operate two of Activision Blizzard's most popular titles, Overwatch and Hearthstone.  <br>     "Activision Blizzard creates titles that kids care about, so bringing them onto the platform means we're going to reach more kids," he said. "To be able to partner with such a world-class game developer is a dream come true for us." <br>     Parnell said his interest in esports started in his teens and carried into his adult life thanks to a former high school teacher. <br>     "When I was in high school, I had a science teach who organizing his own gaming competition after school," he said. "I participated in that and ultimately became passionate about gaming as an industry and decide I wanted to build something in the space." <br>     PlayVS also has partnerships with several major gaming companies, including Nintendo, EA and Riot Games. All the games played through the platform are rated "T for Teen" or lower. Since its launch, the startup has gained 550,000 registered users, 12,000 participating teams, and 62,000 completed matches. <br>     Its partnership with National Federation of State High School Associations Network makes the startup a leader in high school esports in North America. It's also the only esports platform that allows high school teams to qualify as varsity athletics programs.  <br>     "It felt inevitable, with the rise of professional competition, that publishers would want their games to become generational sports, and nothing’s more generational than playing at your local high school," he said. "We get the opportunity to build a product to reach hundreds of thousands of kids and give them an opportunity to connect with one another, get coaching and development and to live their purposes." <br>     The platform includes automatic, in-app scheduling, regulated game play, roster management tools, scouting tools and statistics and standings information. Parnell said it was designed to make competitive esports a fun and seamless experience for players and coaches.  <br>     And esports teams aren't just for those who aren't interested traditional athletics. Parnell said about half of the students participating in high school esports also play a more traditional sport. PlayVS also gives students hands-on experience to STEM learning. <br>     "It's also giving these kids access to STEM learning through their access to the equipment," he said. "We’re satisfying demand that existed while allowing schools to achieve student performance and engagement." <br>     Since its launch, PlayVS has raised $107 million in venture capital. Parnell said in 2022 the company will "invest in the product experience, scale adoption across (high school) campuses in North America, bring on more partnerships and continue to make esports the most accessible and inclusive sports for the next generation." <br>Want to stay ahead of who &amp; what is next? The national Inno newsletter is your definitive first-look              at the people, companies &amp; ideas shaping and driving the U.S. innovation economy.<br><br><a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/inno/stories/profiles/2022/02/08/playvs-partners-with-activision-blizzard.html">source</a>