Following Tele2, another Russian mobile operator, MTS, entered the streaming gaming services market. The company has launched an open beta test of the platform WASD.TV .
What is on WASD
Like CyberHero from Tele2, WASD.TV is an analogue of Twitch. On the MTS platform, you can conduct streaming broadcasts and watch other people’s streams. For various activities to WASD users.TV is assigned the XP game currency. It can be spent on promoting your own streams or encouraging other streamers.
In addition, the Gambit Esports Esports esports League is presented on the platform.* Members of this club specialize in CS:GO, FIFA, Dota 2 and League of Legends. Gambit League on WASD.TV affects only the last two disciplines and is intended for amateur esports players. The best of them will be accepted into Gambit Esports.
* The club is managed by Praliss Enterprises, which MTS acquired entirely in 2017.
Another esports project WASD.TV is a league of Streamers for top authors of game broadcasts. The first 50 people in its rating table will share the prize fund of 5 million rubles. The prize for the first place is 1.5 million rubles.
We add that the volume of investments in the MTS esports direction (including in WASD) is $ 10 million, according to vc.ru .
Further development of WASD
Already this year, MTS will expand the functionality of the platform by streaming from mobile devices. It will also gradually introduce monetization tools, including a subscription to premium content. The company plans to earn money through subscriptions, advertising and partner projects (the latter option has not yet been approved). According to MTS calculations, WASD will begin to bring it profit in two or three years. In the meantime, the operator will focus on attracting an audience.
Now the audience WASB.TV is small. The most popular broadcast — on Apex Legends — is watched by 25 people. By the way, the number of viewers on CyberHero streams is even less. It will be very difficult for both platforms to take at least some significant share from Twitch in the Russian market.
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