Sony Interactive Entertainment is expanding its esports presence this year with the acquisition of Evolution Championship Series, otherwise known as EVO. The renowned fighting game tournament is now part of the PlayStation family.

Sony and a new esports upstart company known as RTS jointly acquired the fighting game league and will oversee all operations moving forward. However, EVO founders, Tony and Tom Cannon, will remain involved in advisory roles.

Welcoming @Evo into the PlayStation family: https://t.co/I3J5iOKhha

Sony Interactive Entertainment and new esports venture RTS have jointly acquired the Evolution Championship Series pic.twitter.com/efOkbf61lU

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 18, 2021

Speaking on the acquisition, SIE’s VP of global competitive gaming, Steven Roberts, said: “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.”

While EVO is now part of the PlayStation family, multi-platform games are still welcome to the line-up, so Super Smash Bros. isn’t going to suddenly be booted from the line-up – unless Nintendo pulls it.

EVO 2021 is set to take place between August 6th to 8th and then again on August 13th to 15th using an online format due to the on-going pandemic. The games line-up currently includes Street Fighter V: Championship Edition, Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate, Tekken 7 and Guilty Gear Strive. Nintendo is currently evaluating whether it will allow Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to be included.

KitGuru Says: I’m not great at fighting games myself, but they can be very fun to watch. Evo has been a huge part of the esports scene for years now, so it is great to see a huge gaming company swoop in and back it like this. Do many of you tune into Evo each year? 

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