With COVID-19 resulting in a notable rise in eSports gaming around the world as populations find ways to entertain themselves in isolation, entertainment company MSM Corporation (ASX: MSM) has secured the Galaxy Racer Esports team to manage content for MSM’s Megastar talent competition platform.

Launched in 2017, Megastar is an online competition platform which was initially targeted towards the Indian market where performers post content to enter competitions where users vote for their favourites, similar to how reality TV talent shows operate. By entering Megastar competitions, performers compete for popularity and prizes up to USD $1 million.

In line with gaming culture growth, Galaxy Racer Esports will work closely with The Riva Group, which MSM is significantly invested in, to develop Megastar Version 2.0. This enhanced platform will have a more gamified focus with competition-based Esports and mobile gaming.

“We are very pleased that we have been able to weather the tough storm, that is COVID-19 and not just survive it but continue to grow our gaming business during it,” said Chairman of The Riva Group and CEO & Founder of Galaxy Racer Esports, Paul Roy.

“We have exciting plans for the next 12 months as we seek to take advantage of the opportunities available in gaming and Esports.

“Galaxy Racer Esports has an impressive roster of teams and have been managing major Esports events with tens of millions of viewers tuning in to watch.”

Across various popular eSports, Galaxy Racer has a roster of 7 teams in CS:GO, League of Legends, Dota2 and PubG Mobile.

The shift in focus for Megastar towards eSports makes sense for MSM with their investment in The Riva Group having performed well through the global launch of the multiplayer online strategy game, Terminator: Dark Fate, which was developed by strategic partner Firefly Games. Through the pandemic period, MSM reports the app is approaching 500,000 downloads with very little marketing spend.

“On the Firefly Games and Riva Technologies front, we are focused on marketing and growing revenue in this highly increased period of demand for mobile content. Riva is continually assessing “Tier 1” brand IP and investments in the digital tech industry to complement its revenue and presence in mobile media and entertainment,” said Roy.

Following significant project investment into the initial launch of Megastar, MSM Corporation reported a net loss of $1.1m in FY19 however of their $1.4m revenue, $1.3m came from convertible note repayment coupons from investments made.

In-app purchases accounted for just $442.