Esports, a near billion dollar industry, is sweeping the tech and digital media industry by storm and Atlanta is no exception.
According to the Georgia Department of Community and Economic Development, Atlanta ranks in the top 10 for best cities for gamers and best place to work and live as a gamer and developer.
There are more than 110 active game studios in the state, according to Georgia Game Developers Association.
To give you an idea of how Atlanta is gearing up for the esports wave, we created a list of esports related startups, leagues and tournaments in the city you should know about. Know of a major esports company we haven't mentioned? Email us.
Hi-Rez Studios
- An independent game developer based in Alpharetta, Hi-Rez Studios announced a few months ago that it launched an eSports production company called Skillshot Media. The company makes 75 hours of eSports content every week for both Hi-Rez games and games published by other companies, while also operating tournaments. The studio has 35 employees and recently built a 16K sq. ft. eSports and broadcast facility at their headquarters on Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta.
ELEAGUE
- ELEAGUE is a esports content and live tournament brand based in Atlanta created by Turner Broadcasting System and IMG. ELEAGUE is broadcasted on television channel TBS, Twitch.tv, YouTube and ELEAGUE.com. The brand recently announced a seven-part TBS series featuring highlights from the recent ELEAGUE SC:GO Premier 2018 and a one-hour special introducing newcomers to Counter-Strike.
KontrolFreek
- This startup, located on Howell Mill Road, creates accessories like grip sticks for video game controllers.
Pharaoh's Conclave
- Pharaoh's Conclave heralds itself as a connector in the esports ecosystem. The Atlanta-based startup provides events, resources and more for amateur gamers and designers to make it to the professional leagues.
PowerSpike
- PowerSpike is an Atlanta startup geared to help content creators on Twitch.tv connect with advertisers and sponsors. The company recently acquired $500,000 in funding from notable investors including Techstars Atlanta – in partnership with Cox Enterprises, The Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball, Dorm Room Fund and other angel investors.
SoaR Gaming
- One of the world's largest gaming organizations with 80 members and an incubator for esports talent, SoaR Gaming is headquartered at the SoaR house in Gwinnett County.
Team Kaliber
- Team Kaliber was founded in 2013 in Atlanta by several members of the Call of Duty community and is one of the top teams in Call of Duty eSports.
SCUF Gaming
- Johns Creek startup SCUF Gaming creates handcrafted controllers for PC and Console games such as Playstation and Xbox.
Haste
- Haste is an Atlanta-based network service that improves network performance and user experience for eSports players.
DreamHack Atlanta
- This annual digital festival hosts a series of events in the city and attracts more than 300,000 people to its festivals around the world annually.
Overwatch League
- The city of Atlanta joined the Overwatch League, a global city-based esports league. Cox Enterprises has partnered with Province, Inc. to form Atlanta Esports Ventures for the Overwatch League for its new season in 2019, according to a news release. Each participating city or team will battle it out in Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game.
