Reliance and BLAST will partner to develop market-leading Intellectual Properties (IPs) in India and introduce BLAST’s global IPs to the Indian market for fans, players, and brands, the statement said.
Reliance’s wholly-owned subsidiary RISE Worldwide has entered into a strategic partnership with BLAST Esports to form a joint venture to conduct esports business in India, according to a joint statement.
Reliance and BLAST will partner to develop market-leading Intellectual Properties (IPs) in India and introduce BLAST’s global IPs to the Indian market for fans, players, and brands, the statement said.
BLAST, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Denmark-based BLAST ApS, is one of the biggest tournament organisers in the world. It works with the world’s biggest game publishers, including Epic Games, Valve, Riot Games, KRAFTON, and Ubisoft, to create leading global esports properties.
“The JV’s (joint venture) ambition is to attract top tier titles and events in the future,” it said.
India is the fastest growing gaming market with a massive gamer base of more than 600 million, which is 18 per cent of the total gamers globally.
India’s esports market is in the nascent stage and is expected to be a high-growth market. The government of India has officially recognised esports in the country by declaring it a part of the “multi-sports event” category.
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games, in which multiplayer video games are played competitively.
“The strategic partnership will help to accelerate this growth by bringing BLAST’s globally recognised esports properties and production techniques to India while co-creating new tournament IPs tailored to the fast-growing gaming market,” it said.
The new JV entity will bring together BLAST’s esports media production expertise, publisher relationships, wide suite of highly popular IPs, and Jio’s technology expertise, unparalleled distribution reach, and local relationships to host these events on the JioGames platform for sustainable growth and innovation in the industry, it said.
BLAST works with the world’s best game publishers and brands, and its events are forecasted to generate 2 billion views in 2025, reach global audiences in more than 150 territories and broadcast in over 30 languages.
Commenting on the development, Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, said, “By partnering with Reliance, a market leader with unparalleled expertise and reach in India, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the local esports scene to new heights.”
Devang Bhimjyani, Head of Reliance Sports, said, “With this JV, Reliance will extend its interest in sports into esports and leverage RISE’s ability to market and promote sporting events and teams, along with Jio providing its distribution and technology expertise.”
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is India’s largest private-sector company, with a consolidated revenue of USD 119.9 billion. Its operations span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewables, retail and digital services.
