2014 FIFA World Cup winner Mario Götze explained why he was investing in esports in his next ventures in a LinkedIn post from Nov. 29. He considers the field a “significant enrichment to the entertainment spectrum” and mentioned Virtex, a Virtual Esports Stadium, in which he has invested.
The professional football player wrote that he recognized similarities between esports and conventional sports. He explained he envisioned high potential in esports, as it was still in its infancy. “There’s still a lot of room to grow and develop, making it attractive for me from my perspective as an investor,” he wrote.
Mario Götze has invested in a Virtual Esports Stadium project named Virtex. It’s still in closed beta and will focus on Counter-Strike 2. Using this tool, viewers will be able to take control of what they want to see in the games, from what angle, and “move” in the maps.
The footballer has been taking part in digital ventures for years now. He’s also expressed interest in Web3, NFT, and AI. A few months ago, he invested in Tromero, a company that aims at combining machine learning training and crypto mining.
Generally, professional athletes have been investing in esports over the last decade, as well as football clubs from Europe and beyond, such as the FC Barcelona, Manchester City F.C., and Paris Saint-Germain F.C.. In January, eight popular clubs joined the 2023 eFootball Championship Pro circuit, a football simulator game.
Synergies between both industries are strengthening as esports gets known from the general public. Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games, French President Emmanuel Macron said esports would take part in the competition, further entangling links between those.
Published: Nov 30, 2023 09:51 pm