BACK TO PRESS ASX: Mogul Partners with Microsoft to Deliver the Age of Empires II Asia Cup

ASX Release

3 March 2020

Mogul partners with Microsoft to deliver the Age of Empires II Asia Cup

Esports platform innovator Mogul will deliver the competition backbone Microsoft’s Age of Empires II game tournaments across 8 Asia-Pacific markets

HIGHLIGHTS

Mogul to partner with Microsoft on launch of a Branded Hub and new tournament series for Age of Empires II Definitive Edition – the AoE II Asia Cup

Mogul will launch AoE II Branded Hubs in 8 markets; Australia and New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea, including localised hubs within those markets

AoE II Asia Cup to launch in Q1 2020 running over four seasons for 12 months with a final at the climax of the Cup series

Mogul and Microsoft to work together on game integration to allow for automated match resulting

Esports Mogul Limited (ASX: ESH) (Mogul or the Company), the world’s most advanced pure-play online esports tournament platform, is pleased to advise that the Company has partnered for the first time with Microsoft on tournament support for Age of Empires II Definitive Edition (AoE II DE). Under the partnership, Mogul and Microsoft will launch a new AoE II DE Branded Hub and a 12-month tournament series, the AoE II Asia Cup, starting in Q1 2020. The series will run across 8 Asia-Pacific markets. Mogul will receive US$70,000 in project fees to launch this Branded Hub and associated series.

In Q1, Microsoft and Mogul will launch a Branded Hub and tournament series for Age of Empires II Definitive Edition, with localised versions launching in Australia and New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, and Korea. The Branded Hub will be a centralised place for Microsoft to engage with Age of Empires fans and will offer exclusive content and paid subscriptions.

Age of Empires is a real time strategy game first launched in 1997 that defined the Real Time Strategy genre, that continues to be played by generations of gamers across generations of PC gaming systems.

Jeremy Hinton, Director, Gaming Category, Asia at Microsoft commented:

“Age of Empires is an iconic PC title for gamers in Asia, and one we’re very excited to be bringing into competition through the upcoming AoE II Asia Cup with Mogul. Mogul’s competition platform provides us with the ability to deliver engaging, interactive competition events for fans across Asia region, bringing this classic PC game into the online esports age!”

“Fans are and have always been at the core of our strategy at Xbox, and we’re looking forward to seeing a new level of competitiveness for PC players experiencing the game’s new Definitive Edition. The Branded Hub will certainly ensure a competition worth watching!”

The tournament series, AoE II Asia Cup will run over four seasons from Q1 2020 to February 2021 and will be co-promoted by Mogul and Microsoft. The top four teams in each season will secure a spot in the AoE Asia Cup Major which will be publicised by Microsoft across its own channels.

Chief Marketing Officer of Mogul, Mark Warburton, commented:

“Competition and friendly play sits at the core of Age of Empires’ community engagement in the Asia region. We’ve been delighted to be working with Microsoft in recent weeks to discover and engage the region’s most passionate AoE competitors as we work to organise a world-class competition through our Branded Hub and online tournament delivery solution. For players, this ensures an immersive competition or viewer experience that looks and feels like the game they love. For publishers like Microsoft, it delivers the opportunity to provide a full-branded competitive gameplay experience, bringing the game brand and its universe to life in new ways.”

“This partnership is exciting as it aligns perfectly with Mogul’s goal to provide Microsoft and other game publishers alike, with a cost effective, turnkey grassroots esports solution that can seamlessly scale in multiple languages and delight gaming communities and fans across multiple markets simultaneously.”

Mogul’s product development team have collaborated with Microsoft to develop an integrated automated match resulting system that will significantly reduce administration costs for Microsoft and Mogul, as well as result in a better experience for gamers.

Mogul will work in partnership with Microsoft for the launch of the Branded Hub and hosting of the AoE II Asia Cup across participating markets in addition to a share of any ad sponsor revenue that may be earned from the Branded Hub or the AoE Asia Cup.

The Age of Empires’ localised Branded Hubs will launch on Mogul later this quarter.

-ENDS-

About Mogul – mogul.gg

Esports Mogul Limited (ASX: ESH) (Mogul or the Company) is an ASX listed esports media and software business.

Mogul owns and operates the mogul.gg tournament platform – the world’s most advanced pure-play online esports tournament and matchmaking platform with automation for major esports titles, including in platform chat and streaming functionality.

Mogul’s platform attracts esports teams, tournament organisers, influencers, community groups, game publishers, and players of any skill level with a centralised esports offering built on an industry leading tournament and matchmaking platform.

Gamers join the mogul.gg community to compete for glory, cash and prizes in all the major esports game titles – cross-platform and title agnostic

With commercialisation in place, Mogul offers a revenue-generating monthly subscription feature, named Mogul VIP, where platform users can subscribe for exclusive VIP tournaments, bonus cash winnings and unlock more perks

Game publishers are able to reduce the cost of grassroots esports activations, supporting their game titles through Branded Hubs

Esports teams get better fan engagement and active participation while building new revenue streams through team memberships, branded tournaments, and fan subscriptions

Tournament organisers, influencers, and community groups can run their own online events – improving player experience, monetising their audience, reducing operating costs, and saving time in event administration and management