Leading eSports and casual gaming tournament company Emerge Gaming Limited (ASX:EM1) have today announced their official launch of ArcadeX in South Africa. 

ArcadeX is an online gaming portal which allows users to engage in skill based competitive gaming competitions in eSports, including peer-to-peer matches and tournaments. Through ArcadeX, Emerge Gaming are aiming to capitalise on the growing eSports market which has often been poised as the next Billion dollar industry. 

As of 2017 the eSports industry was valued at USD 694.2 million and is expected to reach USD 2.17 billion by 2023. eSport viewership has also been forecast to increase with Newzoo predicting 557 Million viewers by 2021, up from 335 Million in 2017. 

The ArcadeX South Africa launch is now live, with its integrations into WorldPlay, which provides mobile payment integration, subscription management, marketing services and content distribution into various Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). The integration between ArcadeX and WorldPlay will now see ArcadeX gain potential access to 88 Million mobile subscribers across 3 of the 4 major MNOs. 

To assist with the launch, Emerge have also engaged digital marketing experts Tiburon Media Group to assist with driving traffic to the new ArcadeX site in South Africa.

The announcement of the launch has been well received by investors, with the share price of EM1 rocketing 30.76% higher since yesterday’s close price.