Gfinity Regulatory News (GFIN)

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Microsoft Studios' Turn 10 Studios extends event partnership with Gfinity for Forza Racing Championship 2018

Gfinity appointed as Global Tournament Operator for Forza Racing Championship 2018 including full production for the Forza Racing World Championship in October at the Gfinity Esports Arena

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading international esports entertainment group, announces that it has, once again, been named by Microsoft Studios' Turn 10 Studios as the Global Tournament Operator for the Forza Racing Championship (ForzaRC) 2018. Under the arrangement, Gfinity will manage all league operations, including online qualifiers and LAN-based (Local Area Network) events, together with adjudication framework which supports all competitive gameplay. Welcoming players of all skill levels, the ForzaRC invites Forza Motorsport 7 players to compete for more than $250,000 in prizes. Registration is open now at ForzaRC.com.

With the regular season beginning on April 2nd, Gfinity will be responsible for managing the live playoffs in Seattle and Mexico City with drivers competing for a $75,000 prize pool at each event. The season culminates with the Forza Racing World Championship 2018 at the Gfinity Esports Arena in October with the top 24 players in the world competing for their shot at the $100,000 prize pool.

This latest venture follows on from Gfinity's successful partnership with Turn 10 Studios in April 2017 where they were appointed Global Tournament Organiser for that year's esports programmes.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said: "Our partnership with Microsoft goes from strength to strength and this is further proof of the quality of our team and services we provide that we have been appointed as the global operator for the Forza Racing Championship 2018. Forza Motorsport 7 has such a passionate following and we can't wait to host the best drivers at our Gfinity Esports Arena in October. The award-winning Forza Motorsport 7 is the most beautiful, authentic and comprehensive racing game Turn 10 Studios has made, featuring over 700 cars and showcasing 60 frames per section racing on the Xbox family of devices and native 4K on Xbox One X."

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About Gfinity

Founded in 2012, Gfinity has established itself as one of the world's leading esports companies. The London-based business enjoys strong relationships with game publishers, players and the wider esports community and has built a solid reputation for delivering high quality competitions, both on-line at www.gfinityesports.com and off-line, in addition to producing industry leading esports broadcasts.

The Gfinity Esports Arena at Fulham Broadway, London is the home of UK esports showcasing regular tournaments across the full range of competitive games. Beyond its own tournaments Gfinity provides a full turnkey solution for brands wanting to create their own esports tournaments and has staged premium esports events around the globe for leading publishers and brands including Formula 1, Microsoft, Activision, EA, Xbox, Gillette and HP.

Gfinity is an accredited official EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 Global Series qualifier as EA brings competitive FIFA to millions of fans around the world through the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series on The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 in August 2018. 

For more details on the entire EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series, please visit www.FUTChampions.com

For more information about the Challenger season, which is free and open to everyone, please visit https://challenger.gfinityesports.com/

About the Forza Video Game Franchise

The Forza videogame franchise, which includes the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon series of games, is the most-acclaimed and best-selling racing franchise of the current videogame console generation. Over 5.3 million players are online each month, making Forza one of the largest racing communities in the world. As of December 2016, the Forza franchise exceeded $1 billion in retail sales with more than 14 million unique players involved in the Forza community on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.

Forza games are powered by the ForzaTech® engine, delivering breath-taking graphics and unmatched simulation, and feature Drivatar® AI, delivering dynamic human-like opponents even when you're offline and feature unmatched online community and competition with Xbox Live, the world's the fastest, most reliable gaming network.

Forza games feature the world's greatest cars, including "First in Forza" debuts such as the McLaren P1, Ferrari La Ferrari, Ford GT and Lamborghini Centenario. The Forza franchise is developed by Turn 10 Studios, creators of Forza Motorsport and four-time winners of the DICE Award for "Racing Game of the Year," together with UK-based Playground Games, developers of the Forza Horizon series.

About esports

Esports (electronic sports) is watching or playing competitive video gaming. Leading titles include League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Defence of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2), Call of Duty and Rocket League. The industry is growing rapidly, with new communities developing around more and more titles. The global esports market generated US$493 million of revenue in 2016 and is expected to make $1.5 billion by 2020. The global esports audience in 2017 was 191 million people, 80% under the age of 35 and 70% male (source: Newzoo). Online streaming channels Twitch and YouTube command the biggest audiences, although esports events are also now being broadcast on conventional TV. The 2015 League of Legends Championships finals in Berlin were watched by 36 million people, with a peak concurrent viewership of 14 million viewers, while at DotA 2's flagship annual championship 'The International 2016' competitors from around the world competed for a prize pot of over $20 million.