Ampverse and DMI Target Indian Youth with 'College Rivals' Esports IP in Major Cities

Ampverse has partnered with DMI Finance, India’s leading non-banking financial company, to fuel the growth of esports in India. The two companies will co-develop and launch a series of esports intellectual properties (IP) and data-driven products and services for gamers in India. The first IP being launched is College Rivals.

The unveiling of the launch video of College Rivals by Ampverse DMI offers an intriguing glimpse into the forthcoming excitement that awaits the gaming community. Gaming enthusiasts can expect a fusion of high-energy esports tournaments, mentorship from accomplished professional players, appearances by influential gaming figures, and numerous other exciting elements as the launch of College Rivals draws near.

College Rivals aims to foster a sense of unity among college students through thrilling esports competitions, characterised by vibrant tournaments, influencer engagements, musical interludes, and intensive training camps that aim to propel players to the zenith of Indian esports excellence. The overarching objective of this initiative is to nurture emerging gaming talent within India, cultivating a spirited and inclusive college community. The project's primary objective is to nurture emerging Indian gaming talent, fostering a spirited and inclusive college community.

The collegiate IP - College Rivals will be traveling across various cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai to handpick top-tier players from each location, and later concluding its journey to host the highly anticipated 'Grand Finale' event in Mumbai in early 2024. Here, champions from the six featured games will be celebrated, bringing India’s largest esports talent hunt close with unparalleled excitement for participants.

PCQuest had the privilege of conducting an insightful interview with Charlie Baillie, the Chief Strategy Officer, and Ferdinand Gutierrez, the CEO and Co-Founder of Ampverse. In this exclusive conversation, they delved into the dynamic world of esports and its rapid growth and much more. Read the interview excerpts here:

What would you like to say about the launch of 'College Rivals' and your partnership with DMI Finance?

We always believe in India, the talent in India, and the economy behind it. I mean obviously once, once if this becomes successful, we're going to have a lot of support from endemic and non-endemic brands to support what we do and you know, obviously, that's going to help us, you know, build a business out of this. At the end of the day, yes, we want to do it for the good of the Indian e-sports communities and I think that's where our heart is first. But of course, you know as business people we also want to make sure it's financially viable. So we know it's a process, but we believe it will become a successful business on its own.

You recently did expansion in India as well, Was it a carefully planned, crafted plan or did you just grab the opportunity and seize it?

I think that it's a little bit of both. We had a lot of different opportunities to go to different markets. I felt like India had the biggest uplift for us in terms of the sheer size of the gaming space here and of course its young audience and our ability to kind of fill gaps because there really is a gap in collegiate these boys and I think that now that we have this vehicle there's even more things that I feel that we can plug in and really kind of make a difference in India.

What sets you apart from other well-established E-sports industries?

I think a lot of the things that we look up, we don't just look at E-Sports, we are we have way more facets to our business versus just E-Sports. I believe that we're way more IP-centric and we're more data-centric and we're one of those companies that are looking towards you know moving closer and closer to becoming a D2C or directive consumer company.

We're also starting to build our own products and with an understanding of our next generation of consumers, we're going to be building new products for them and giving them every opportunity to become either closer to the teams or closer to the talent. But we just want them to feel inspired by the industry and we want them to be able to, you know, express themselves and also to support what we do as well. So I think you know that we're way broader versus just saying we're an e-sports company. If you look at college rivals, yes, it looks like e-sports IP, but it's more of an entertainment IP.

How have brand collaborations evolved in this e-sport industry?

It's funny because you know; I used to be in the advertising space for 20 years. I've seen the changes between ad-driven type initiatives versus content driven and I think I think at the end of the day, you know the movement towards more content-driven initiatives from a brand perspective is really where the future is. This generation is not very keen on advertising, so it's keen on content and that's what we bring to the table.

What are the challenges you have faced and you are facing till now?

Reach here in terms of launching in the market, good question. I think you know we've been involved with India for some time and we've been looking at the market for some time. it's a complex market as you know right in terms of the geographies, the cultures, the language, Obviously, there have been some bumps in terms of BGMI and and what that did for the ecosystem.

So for us, we've been monitoring all of this and finding the right time where we think now is the time to really invest you know and that's really kind of what's brought us today.  We think it's a very, it's the right time to really double down on India you know in terms of gaming we think.

Yeah, There's a lot of growth potential ahead, you know and that's why we wanted also to find the right local partner, you know in DMI that that not only brings financial resources, but local market knowledge, connectivity partnerships.

I think you know we have good expertise building gaming companies across Southeast Asia and we want to combine and bring the relevance that we can, but also you know take local expertise as well.

What's next for Ampverse? Are you planning to go global?

I'd say step, by step, we're always looking to expand. I mean step one is we you know we built arguably the most but certainly one of the dominant players from Southeast Asia and we want to be you know one of if not the dominant players here in India as well. We're currently not in Indonesia, that's another market in this region in the Southeast Asian region that we're looking to go into. So that's the immediate horizon. We want to really be the dominant player across Southeast Asian India. Beyond that, we're looking at other markets.

The Middle East is an interesting region, it's a very dynamic region. There are some interesting things happening over there.

Charlie Baillie, CSO, Ampverse, shared his excitement about this new venture, “I'm proud to announce the launch of the first collaboration from Ampverse DMI in India, guided by a shared vision to both nurture and unlock the vast potential of the nation's rapidly growing esports and gaming sector. Extensive strategic efforts from both DMI and Ampverse teams have culminated in our exciting first new venture, dedicated to providing exceptional gaming experiences and a platform to identify the best talent within the Indian college esports community.”

Shivashish Chatterjee, Co-Founder and Joint Managing Director of DMI Finance, shares, “We are thrilled to launch College Rivals as the first product of DMI’s partnership with AmpVerse. We firmly believe that eSports is a significant part of the future of both competitive and spectator sports in India. The journey of eSports to the mainstream of competition and entertainment promises to be exhilarating, and DMI is committed to supporting this evolution to the fullest extent.”

Amidst the inaugural strides of the College Rivals event in the heart of Delhi, Ampverse DMI also takes immense pride in unveiling the much-anticipated Gaming Truck – an ingenious and immersive gaming experience primed to embark on a captivating journey across the campuses of Delhi's colleges. This gaming truck is a hub of excitement, boasting an array of gaming stations paired with a dynamic DJ setup, promising an enthralling entertainment encounter for all in attendance. The Gaming Truck will be traveling an impressive 5000 kilometers, charting its course through five pivotal cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Hyderabad as a part of its journey.

With College Rivals, the excitement is ceaseless, both participants and spectators alike can anticipate an array of activities and the exhilarating presence of some of their cherished gaming influencers. College Rivals serves as a resounding invitation, urging college students to engage in thrilling esports competitions.