By Eli Patton Date：05 / 06 / 2017

Blizzard Entertainment recently announced the opening of their first eStadium in Taipei. The move continues Blizzard’s investment spree in the East Asian nation. According to the company’s CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime, it also reflects the importance of the country’s vibrant gaming culture and market in the global gaming scene.

Blizzard plans to use Taiwan as a fulcrum for the region. In the future, the eStadium will not only be home to domestic gaming matches, but also host international competitions. Blizzard’s first event, the Overwatch Pacific Professional Championship, was held in the eStadium on its official opening day on April 8.

Blizzard’s Taiwan strategy

For gamers around the world, Blizzard is known for wildly successful titles such as StarCraft, Diablo, World of Warcraft, as well as the recent smash hit Hearthstone.

The opening of the Blizzard eStadium, however, marks new territory for the company and demonstrates its dedication to the growing field of eSports.

"Over the past 25 years, I’ve helped many new games enter the market, but this is the first time I’ve helped to create an eStadium," Morhaime says half-jokingly. He asserts, however, that Blizzard has been wanting to establish an eSport’s arena for a long time, yet the plan did not come to fruition until the middle of last year.

The opening of its first eStadium in the heart of Taipei City is part of a general effort to establish Taiwan as Blizzard’s newest East Asian hub. Referring to Taiwan, Blizzard’s regional managing director Eddie Meng asserts that "from the very beginning, cooperation here has been very fruitful."

Recently, the company has been actively seeking opportunities to strengthen investment in Taiwan. Not only did Blizzard unveil a new regional call center in the capital, but the gaming giant has also broadened its recruitment efforts on the island nation.

A homecoming of sorts

For Morhaime, East Asia is not only the birthplace of digital gaming, but also where Blizzard witnessed the transformation of its global hit StarCraft into a professional e-sport discipline. Because of this, gaming development in East Asia has become a global benchmark of sorts.

Meng also points out that many players in the Pacific Professional Championship stem from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, or Japan.

Choosing Taipei for the eSports arena was thus only natural. While the island’s gaming scene may be limited in scope, it is more advanced than other markets, as Meng argues. "Taiwan has very good players, very good teams, and it gives a good impression to other countries.”

Meng also believes that the defining characteristic of Taiwanese players is their vigor. "Some Korean players are very powerful, and now gamers in China are also emerging as a force, but the Taiwanese work harder and are more vigorous. I think Taiwan has indeed very special players in this regard."

Taipei a regional and international gaming hub

Although Blizzard did not disclose the exact costs of its new eStadium, Meng hints that the company’s effort is far from half-baked. Be it in regard to location, venue size, or state-of-the-art facilities, "this is definitely a substantial and meaningful investment." What’s more, Taipei will serve as model for future arenas, as Blizzard is set to build more eStadiums in other locations.

In addition to holding over 100 regular events this year, the Blizzard eStadium will also host four major international events that come with significant amounts of prize money. Competitions such as the afore-mentioned Overwatch Pacific Professional Championship, as well as Heroes of the Storm Asia-Pacific duel, Hearthstone, or Starcraft ll, will all take place in Taipei later this year.

With so many major international events, game demos, player gatherings, and a plethora of other activities lined up, the new space is set to bring a buzz of gaming activity to the heart of Taipei.