Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and RTS have jointly bought Evolution Championship Series, the biggest fighting game championship, which is now in new hands.

RTS is a new venture born out of Endeavor’s eSports business. Together with SIE, they have acquired the assets and properties of the Evolution Championship Series (Evo), SIE announced on its blog. Tony and Tom Cannon, the co-founders of Evo, continue to work as key advisors to „ensure that Evo remains a one-of-a-kind, grassroots competitive platform for fighting game players and fans around the globe.”

Evo will return this year as Evo Online 2021, which will run from August 6 to 8, and August 13 to 15. It will already be operated by the newly formed joint venture between SIE and RTS. The entry will be free, and players can compete from North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America in Guilty Gear: Strive, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, Tekken 7, and other games that are yet to be announced. The online qualifiers will be streamed – more details will be announced in the coming weeks.

„Evo is still open to all platforms. The teams at PlayStation and RTS are enabling us to continue working with our community to support fighting games,” Evolution Championship Series head of Business Development Mark Julio noted. „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. This joint acquisition with RTS marks a new chapter of collaboration with Evo’s co-founders, Tom and Tony Cannon, and their passionate community of fighting game fans,” SIE vice president of Global Competitive Gaming Steven Roberts said.

„Evo is a unique and iconic community unlike any other in the fighting game space, and we’re proud to be partnering with the Sony Interactive Entertainment team and the legends that are Tom and Tony—as well as Mark Julio as Head of Business Development—to help grow Evo. We’ve got so many exciting plans in store for this year and beyond,” RTS CEO Stuart Saw added. „Tom and I are incredibly excited by the partnership with SIE and RTS. 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,” Tony Cannon said.

Unfortunately, we don’t know any terms, so the cost of the transaction or the ownership split of the venture is not public due to contractual agreements.

Source: Gematsu