The Evolution Championship Series (Evo) already showed signs of growth before it began with its overall entry numbers surpassing that of 2017’s. Last weekend, the tournament organizer showed that this 22-year old event can continue to “evolve” in other areas that will be key for its longevity, branding, and status as the premier event in the fighting game genre.

Viewership Growth

Evo 2018 saw record breaking numbers in viewership for individual titles and for the event as a whole.

Dragon Ball FighterZ, a first-time title for Evo, set the highest max concurrent viewership record for the event, with 253K viewers at its peak. Super Smash Bros. Melee , Tekken 7, and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 were all at individual game record-breaking max CCV numbers with 190.4K, 176.2K, and 106.5K respectively. The biggest viewership spikes came during grand finals and bracket reset situations, specifically for Dragon Ball FighterZ and Tekken 7.

Blazblue Crosstag Battle was also a big surprise at Evo in its first year. Despite being only two months old, the game peaked at a modest 39.3K viewers—on top of crossing 1K player entrants. Despite not breaking any records at Evo itself, Capcom’s Street Fighter V had its highest viewership numbers for the year, peaking at 201.6K and holding strong to finish out the 16-hour final day stream.

Evo’s strong Sunday viewership helped it accrue 2.5M hours watched for the weekend, eclipsing hours watched on the main Twitch channels for Riot Games’, and Fortnite.

To compare Evo to two other esports competition finals of the same tier, the conclusion to the fifth season of the Rocket League Championship Series accrued 2.2M total hours watched. The FIFA FUT Champions Cup reached 2.1M.

Evo Adds Spectacle to Announcements and Reveals

Evo’s strong viewership numbers tie in well with another building trend: the number of announcements and reveals at the tournament itself. Of the eight titles featured for competition at the event, seven of those had world premiere announcements and reveals during the weekend. A majority of announcements were new character reveals for Fighting EX Layer, Blazblue Crosstag Battle, Soul Calibur VI, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Street Fighter V. Tekken 7 developer Bandai Namco even shocked the fighting game world by announcing it will be working with AMC to bring The Walking Dead character Neegan to the fighting game.

Arc System Works was the only developer to talk directly to esports. The company announced that it would be bringing a competitive circuit for three of its titles, a shift from the developers’ traditional hands-off stance.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Arc System Works was the only developer to talk directly to esports.[/perfectpullquote]

No new titles were discussed at Evo, showing that while game developers are happy to show off new content at Evo, it may take some time before game reveals are common at the event, especially if developers prefer to show off new games at industry events with broader focuses, such as E3.

Growth in Brand Support and Shift in Culture

Evo 2018 saw a growing number of endemic and non-endemic sponsors supporting the event. Big name brands Zowie , Geico, Astro , and Samsung supported by traditional means, providing equipment and setting up booths, but others went a different route.

Among those was Cygames, a top mobile game developer in Japan most known for card game Shadowverse. The mobile gaming brand was the title sponsor for Evo 2018, had a section of the venue reserved for its players sponsored under the Cygames Beast brand, played commercials featuring both Shadowverse and its player roster, and had its own cheer squad at the event.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Evo 2018 saw a growing number of endemic and non-endemic sponsors supporting the event.[/perfectpullquote]

NISSIN Foods continued their support of Evo following in their Evo Japan partnership from January. The food manufacturer was predominantly featured on the stream through commercials and graphics on stream, along with having its own booth to hand out its products.

Fast food chain Arby’s partnered directly with Bandai Namco and its upcoming title Soul Calibur VI. The brand shared a booth with Bandai Namco, made a replica character built from Arby’s boxes, and a had a custom made Arby’s fightstick that was given to the Soul Calibur VI side tournament winner.

Related Article: OPINION: The Past, Present, and Future of Evo Makes It Prime for Investment

Red Bull and Machinima used their time at Evo to advertise their own fighting game events and circuits. Red Bull’s decision to partner with Evo like this is interesting, as the Red Bull Conquest circuit is geared towards lesser-known players in the fighting game community—many of whom were in attendance at Evo. This is Red Bull taking a more direct stance to build up its own standing as a tournament organizer as opposed to solely advertising its brand and products.

For Machinima, the partnership meant a big highlight on their smaller, experimental format Body Count Fighting, which features show matches as opposed to the traditional open bracket format.

Fighting game peripheral makers made direct connections with their brands and Evo. Qanba designed an official arcade stick with the Evo branding for the event. Meanwhile, Hori was able to attain a big presence on stream through indirectly paying players by offering prize money for top place finishers who use their controllers.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The new ways that brands and developers are approaching Evo for partnership shows a relationship that is further pushing Evo.[/perfectpullquote]

Smaller brands, artists, and popular fighting game community members played a part in Evo’s growth beyond the competition aspect. Ten/O, production company behind Evo, collaborated with a mixture of community members like Sajam, Aris, and Jiyuna and FGC brands like Brokentier, Team Spooky, and Combo Queens to bring their merch under one booth. The booth also featured appearances for fans to meet with the FGCs popular streamers and personalities.

The new ways that brands and developers are approaching Evo for partnership shows a relationship that is further pushing Evo from its current place as tournament organizer to a destination for brands to connect with their core audience.

Celebration Can Complement Competition

Beyond the prestige of the tournament, this year’s Evo has shown that it can thrive with a unmatched experience for a genre of esports that is ready to take its next steps. The competition at Evo is not taking a backseat to the growing sentiment that Evo is embracing convention culture.

The brands that have found their way into the fighting game community, are either game developers that have a vested interest in Evo’s competitive nature, or brands like Red Bull and Geico that have shown to be well versed in the world of esports and are finding new ways to expand in the space. Evo gives both the opportunity to connect directly with a community that can be closed off to the idea of bigger influences.

With a combination of exclusive partnerships with game developers and brands, consistent growth in showcasing the competitive side of fighting games, and maintaining a place for new and old titles, Evo is showing that the mixing of competition and celebration can be a formula for success.