The esports industry as a whole is growing rapidly, with more viewership, investment, and greater infrastructure than ever before. As a result, developers and tournament organizers have begun developing the next potentially lucrative niche—mobile esports. In December 2017, entertainment company Lionsgate took its shot at competitive mobile gaming by helping raise $11M in investments for Power Rangers: Legacy Wars (PR:LW) developer nWay. It was far from the first time Lionsgate backed an esports venture; it announced its in esports organization Immortals earlier that year.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”We saw a competitive community forming organically, so we started giving them tools to create their own tournaments.”[/perfectpullquote]

Using its experience working with Immortals, Lionsgate has taken an active role in developing PR:LW’s esports initiatives. Already this year, having surpassed 36M downloads, the game was featured at Amazon’s mobile esports showcase tournament Mobile Masters, with nWay also organizing tournaments and exhibitions during San Diego Comic-Con. Daniel Engelhardt, senior vice president of interactive ventures & games at Lionsgate spoke with The Esports Observer about developing the game’s esports scene, and the role of esports in the mobile gaming market.

“At its core, esports is about world class competition and the spectacle of watching players competing at that level,” he says. “Until recently, both elements were tough to service on mobile but that has changed very quickly. You’re now seeing companies like Supercell and Tencent invest heavily in mobile esports, forming leagues around Clash Royale and Arena of Valor, which we’re also participating in through our investment in Immortals.”

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These recent developments allowed Lionsgate to develop a competitive community around PR:LW. While many mobile fighting games exist on the App Store and Google Play, nearly all are played against a computer-controlled opponent. The Power Rangers title allows players to compete against one another in real time, opening the door to both online and offline tournaments.

“While we always thought [PR:LW] had potential as an esport,” Engelhardt says, “it is the community that has been driving this exercise. We saw a competitive community forming organically, so we started giving them tools to create their own tournaments, then leaned into hosting events and tournaments for them.”

While other developers are looking to mirror traditional esports through professional leagues, Engelhardt does not believe that is the right avenue for every mobile game. While Lionsgate has been able to observe the Overwatch League closely through its investment in Immortals and its OWL franchise Los Angeles Valiant, the company has no “aspirations to build this type of infrastructure around Power Rangers: Legacy Wars. We see a lot of value in further developing the competitive community around our game, but building an esports league is an entirely different animal and a business unto itself.”

That said, cultivating an esports scene has served as a powerful engagement and retention tool. Engelhardt said that the in-game tournaments hosted during San Diego Comic-Con received around 20% participation from the game’s daily player base.

“The exhibition matches we hosted with current and former Power Rangers at Comic-Con were so well attended…and the viewership on Mobile Masters was in the millions. Our participation in these types of activities has also garnered a lot social media engagement and press attention, both of which are very valuable in growing the Legacy Wars brand.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Not every competitive game, whether mobile or PC, can translate into a full blown esport, but there’s value in growing a competitive community around a game and aggressively supporting it, particularly if it’s being driven by interest from your players.“[/perfectpullquote]

During Mobile Masters in May, Lionsgate and PR:LW made a direct appeal to the fighting game community by hosting an exhibition, featuring fighting game veteran and Echo Fox player Justin Wong, who is a vocal supporter of PR:LW on social media. Through this exhibition and a Street Fighter crossover promotion, Lionsgate has been able to reach the broader fighting game scene. “This is something we fully intend to build upon,” said Engelhardt.

For many mobile games, this appeal to an established esports audience could be a powerful tool both for growth and retention. The majority of esports fans are genre loyalists, preferring to watch and play a specific type of game. Through tournaments and exhibitions with established esports influencers, mobile games can market directly to potential users who already enjoy their type of game and prefer to play games with well-supported competitive features.

Rather than trying to compete directly with PC and console esports, Engelhardt believes this focus on engagement and retention can better service many mobile games.