The development of media centers plays an important role in the development of esports. Skillshot Media is taking on a big part in making this happen in Atlanta, Georgia, thanks to a new partnership with application hosting company INAP. Skillshot will operate the 10,000-square foot esports center, which will be co-located in INAP’s flagship Atlanta data center facility.
We're excited to announce the management buy-out of Skillshot Media is complete, and we're strategically partnering with @PoweredbyINAP to develop an #esports media center in downtown #Atlanta. Learn more: https://t.co/K6zbTqfdRK pic.twitter.com/gU1lP1S54B
— Skillshot Media (@SkillshotMedia) January 16, 2020
Skillshot develops an esports center
Skillshot Media operates amateur and professional competitive tournaments through video production and management, and they also offer esports consulting and live event promotion. Until recently, Hi-Rez Studios, a game publishing company mostly known for Smite, Paladins, and Realm Royale, owned them. On Jan. 16, two former Hi-Rez executives, Todd Harris and Nabil Ismail, acquired Skillshot to pursue new developments, including a partnership with INAP. They will both work together to develop this esports center as efficiently and strategically as possible.
Skillshot Media expressed in a statement its desire for this center to be the heart of esports production. They will provide operations, production, and broadcasting services to “multiple game publishers as well as consumer brand partners.” This will give professional esports teams and streamers the ability to broadcast their games in somewhere other than Los Angeles.
Technology involved in this project
Besides Skillshot’s new executives with over 15 years of esports experience, their partnership with INAP brings great benefits. “Esports demands an IT infrastructure built for speed, reliability, and global scalability.” Harris says, “Players are competing for millions of dollars and INAP delivers the performance required for that competitive environment.”
Luckily, the center will offer fast-speed internet and technological advantages compared to other esports centers in North America. “INAP’s flagship Atlanta data center features low latency network performance enabled by patented route optimization technology.” This means that games and broadcasts will continuously work at the highest efficiency possible.
A huge impact
This Atlanta esports center will make a big impact on collegiate esports teams. Besides Comcast spending $50 million on a new gaming arena in South Philadelphia, this center in Atlanta will be a middle ground for neighboring states. Some of the biggest college esports teams, such as the University of Texas, will find traveling to Georgia much easier than to Los Angeles.
They will locate this new center at 250 Williams Street NW in Atlanta. The date of the center’s completion has not been set.
