Guild Esports PLC (LON:GILD) said it has launched an online esports training platform, Guild Academy, to drive the growth of its talent pool of future pro players, fanbase, and long-term revenue streams.
The esports brand said the Academy will be available worldwide in English for budding esports players from the age of 11 onwards. The firm added that it has drawn on the experience of sports star David Beckham in creating football academies to establish the esports training platform.
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The Academy will offer every player, of any ability, individualised support and personalised challenges designed to nurture gameplay and build life skills, the company said, adding that all members will also be given access to tournaments, the firm’s training dashboard and performance analysis.
Guild also said that as the Academy expands, a tiered system will be introduced, whereby the players showing the most potential will be offered greater access to 1:2:1 support as well as access to the physical Academy headquarters and roadshows.
The firm said the Academy will initially launch with two of the most popular esports, Fortnite and Rocket League, with more games to follow within the next six months. The new platform will also have a team of industry leaders delivering masterclasses to maximise athletes' learning.
Guild added that it has partnered with Super Awesome, a consent provider, to create the world's first safe space for children within an online esports academy, allowing parents to control what data is shared with the company and ensure children require parental permission to use the platform.
"We are delighted to be launching our online Academy which will provide players of all ages and abilities anywhere in the world with comprehensive training programmes to develop their skills as esports players. The level and quality of interaction between the players and our training programmes is what sets us apart and makes Guild's Academy unique. It represents the future of esports and will allow Guild to discover and nurture the next generation of esports champions as well as engender tribal loyalty to our brand," Guild executive chairman Carleton Curtis said in a statement.
"This is an exciting opportunity for Guild as we look to take our world class Academy to market. Our grass roots system will allow us to attract Guild fans for life, create an important asset for sponsors to reach a young audience in an authentic way, create a significant revenue stream through our scalable subscription service, maintain a pipeline of professional athletes for Guild's teams, as well as player transfer opportunities in the long run," added chief executive Kal Hourd.