MMORPG: Congratulations on the launch of the Wargaming.net League. Can you tell us what lead you to make this decision?
Caleb Fox: World of Tanks is defined by competitive PVP; it’s what the game is built on. We believe this makes World of Tanks uniquely suited for eSports. It also gives us a new venue to provide our players with great content, centered on the game they love.
MMORPG.com: World of Tanks is a very global game. Do you have plans for worldwide and local tournaments?
Caleb Fox: Absolutely. As you’ve mentioned, World of Tanks is a global game, with a base in various regions. We’ve already been running tournaments independently on each server for their region, these often lead into global finals or event, such as Ural Steel. You can expect much of that trend to continue.
MMORPG.com: There is some serious prize money at stake for the players of 2013. What is it like to offer such an amazing opportunity to fans of Wargaming.net?
Caleb Fox: The whole league is a great opportunity to us, but prize pool is the best part. We’re giving 2.5 million dollars back to our players. Being able to provide entertainment for our existing players and giving some of them prizing in the process, is an amazing win, win. We hope that playing World of Tanks professionally will soon be a completely viable career path, and what better goal is there for a gamer, than to get paid for playing the game they love?
MMORPG.com: Can you give us some insight into where you see eSports ten or even fifteen years from now?
Caleb Fox: ESports is still new enough that it’s somewhat difficult to tell, but I would compare it to American Football in the early 20th century. We have a bit of an advantage, as technology acts as a catalyst for information, causing the acceptance or rejection of something to happen much quicker. I expect and hope that in 10-15 years from now, watching your favorite eSports title won’t be much different than watching a professional football game. Whether it’s in your living room, or at a massive live event, millions of people are already watching eSports, so I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that 10-15 years we’ll have the same kinds of number that you see from soccer in Europe, or football in the states.
MMORPG.com: Shifting gears a little, can you tell us about your new partnership with Gas Powered Games?
Caleb Fox: We’re extremely excited to welcome Gas Powered Games to the global Wargaming family. Other than that, though, I can’t share any additional info.
MMORPG.com: World of Warplanes continues to go grow even in Beta. Are their plans to bring that game into the eSports league as well, maybe for 2014?
Caleb Fox: Whether or not World of Warplanes becomes an eSports title will depend a lot on the fans. If our fans enjoy World of Warplanes as much as they do World of Tanks, if it’s strategic, and enjoyable to watch, then I would definitely expect to see it as an eSports title in the near future.
MMORPG.com: Do you have hopes for an eSports tournament than ultimately encompasses World of Tanks, World of Warplanes, and World of Warships?
Caleb Fox: That would be amazing, and I definitely hope to see a cross-product tournament. Ultimately it will depend on the reception of each title individually as an eSport, before we can move on to something as epic as that. But I admit, that’s what I dream about.
MMORPG.com: With such dynamic growth in the last few years what are the goals at Wargaming.net moving into the rest of the decade?
Caleb Fox: There are some great things on the horizon for Wargaming. Unfortunately I can’t disclose most of those plans at the moment. Obviously World of Warships and World of Warplanes are not too far away. After that, who knows, although I’m sure people have made all sorts of guesses based on our recent acquisitions. I think our recent moves in the business world show what we’re really about. We’re here to make legendary games, the kinds of games that no one else has ever made.
- Read more about the eGaming Announcement
- Learn about the Chinese Tech Tree
- See what we discovered at G-Star 2012
