Riot Games and MTV collaborate for Southeast Asia esports and music festival

The event will feature the region’s first League of Legends tournament with national teams from 10 ASEAN countries competing over the two days to become ASEAN champion. The festival will also feature music performances by international, regional and local artists as part of the MTV Spotlight programme, with the performances to be edited into a 60-minute special broadcast.

Both Riot Games and MTV are hoping the event will help expand their respective audiences by attracting new fans.

Paras Sharma, senior vice president of Southeast Asia, Viacom International Media Networks, said the event was a timely initiative as esports is “growing at a rapid pace in Singapore and across Southeast Asia”.

“There is a natural synergy between esports and music and with MTV’s expertise in creating compelling music and pop culture experiences, we are amplifying the discovery of a new entertainment experience in the region. With Hyperplay, we are looking to connect with new audiences in the esports genre through a bespoke music platform featuring a diverse range of talents, and the distribution of music and esports content to a much wider audience base,” said Sharma.

Johnson Yeh, managing director of Riot Games, Greater China and Southeast Asia, said the event aims to introduce a broader audience to esports and gaming. “Riot has been engaging in musical collaborations with great artists for years. A lot of gamers are also music fans, but it is exciting to see that a lot of talented musicians are also gamers, with whom we can create tailored music experiences within our game universe.”