Glytch Bets on Return of Live Esports
Known only to industry insiders, stealth startup Glytch Inc., has broken ground on the first of a series of venues across North America, each the official home stadium of a major esports team. Its premier location, in Los Angeles, is scheduled to open in Q2-2022. Glytch intends to redefine the sports and entertainment experience by combining its high-tech themed arenas with next-gen entertainment and dining offerings.
The lead investor in Glytch is Liquid2 Ventures known for their early funding of Cloud9, one of the most successful esports teams in history. Additional investors include TwitchTV co-founder, Kevin Lin; The Lego Movie executive producer and TT Games founder, Jon Burton; and other notable industry insiders.
“As an early believer in esports, we think that Glytch has the right team and expertise to take the in-venue experience to the next level” said Joe Montana, Founding Partner of Liquid2 Ventures.
Glytch venues are large scale – 50,000 to 70,000 sq. ft. – with seating capacity for thousands of fans and dynamic staging to accommodate a wide variety of esports and other live events. The stadium is set within a fully themed, immersive environment, featuring virtual reality simulators, escape rooms, drone racing, classic arcade attractions, and upscale food and beverage options.
“The current ‘state of the art’ in food service at esports venues seems to be soft drinks and snacks,” said Michael Williams, CEO and Founder of Glytch. “Esports should not be defined as sitting in one place for eight hours at a time. Instead, esports should have a high-energy atmosphere with all kinds of dining, attractions and entertainment options to choose from.”
Michael Williams is the recent owner of GameWorks and a life-long video game developer. His co-founding partners are former Apple Genius program manager, Kathryn Raphael, and Blizzard senior executive/Major League Gaming CTO, Pavel Murnikov.
Scenario, Glytch’s design, fabrication, and construction partner, is a division of Cockram and Kajima Corporation. Their current projects include work for Disney and Universal parks worldwide, and the design-build of Lionsgate World in Zhuhai, China, the world’s first “vertical theme park”.
“Scenario has recently expanded into turnkey project delivery”, said Dan Moalli, Vice President of Scenario USA. “We believe in the vision of Glytch, its management team and its tremendous growth potential. We are really excited to be part of this project.”
“This is a big bet,” said Michael Williams, “but esports are a permanent part of our culture, things will get back to normal, and the insight gained at GameWorks about blending esports with location-based entertainment is the right formula for success.”
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