SVG Esports Production Summit Brings Industry Leaders Together as the Sector Undergoes Drastic Change

The SVG Esports Production Summit returned to Los Angeles on Thursday for its sixth-annual edition, drawing more than 225 industry leaders to the Sheraton Universal Hotel for a full day dedicated to the philosophy and technology behind esports storytelling.

In addition to a keynote presentation from burgeoning esports giant ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the Summit took attendees behind the scenes of both major events like The International and smaller, community-fueled tournaments. In addition, panels explored new remote-production workflows, the latest technological developments, the integral role of observers in a live production, the in-venue fan experience, and more.

More than 225 industry leaders were in attendance at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles.

While the overall esports sector is undergoing a market correction of late, the total number of event productions is up and viewership remains high. StreamHatchet reported that fans watched 7.6 billion hours in 2023 Q3 — almost equal to peak pandemic numbers in 2020 and 90% more than Q3 2019. During his welcoming remarks, SVG Esports Production Advisory Committee Chairman Joseph Lynch offered up plenty of reason for optimism in 2024 and beyond.

ESL FACEIT Group: How an Esports Production Giant Came to Be

The opening keynote conversation went inside the rapidly growing esports-production operations of ESL FACEIT Group, which was formed by Savvy Games Group last year after it acquired ESL and FACEIT in hopes of creating an esports powerhouse. Since then EFG has continued to add key acquisitions (including Vindex and Esports Engine) to its portfolio to create one of the largest esports ecosystems on the planet.

EFG’s Senior Director of Broadcast and Production Andrew Lane, Director of Festival Operations Guillermo Parga, and Esports Engine Co-Founder and Chief Production Officer Ryan Thompson provided a deep dive into the company’s sprawling production and broadcast operations across the globe and how they pull off major events including DreamHack, ESL Pro Tour, Intel Extreme Masters, and More.

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The Esports Production Spectrum: From Major Championships to Community-Based Events

The keynote was followed by a pair of back-to-back sessions that focused on large-scale major-championship productions and smaller-scale community-based events, respectively.

From The International to LoL Worlds to CS:GO Major Championships and beyond, esports boasts some of the largest annual live-event productions of any kind. Lynch joined PGL Esports Broadcast Producer Sebastian Honciuc and Esports Engine Senior Director of UK Operations Paul Kent for a behind-the-scenes look at the live-production workflows to deliver these elite events to thousands of fans onsite and millions more across the globe.

While major tournaments may grab the headlines, the majority of the live productions currently being done today are smaller-scale, grass-roots events that resonate with passionate, often niche communities. Whether it’s a LAN event or online play, these productions require a very different toolset than large-scale events and often feature the integration of co-streamers and influencers. ADNVCR’s EVP of North America Wade Beckett​, Optic Gaming’s Executive Director Corey Dunn, and Esports Arena’s Founder/CEO Tyler Endres provided an inside look at how these shows are pulled off.

A Packed Afternoon of Esports Production: REMI, New Tech, Observing, and the In-Venue Experience

In order to confront the realities of today’s esports market, live productions are increasingly being forced to find more efficient, cost-effective ways to get the job done. After lunch, a panel entitled “The REMI Reality: Creating More Efficient and Cost-Effective Esports Productions” took an in-depth look at how this is being done. The panel, which was moderated by CBS Sports’ Corey Smith, featured Appear’s Geoff Bowen, Riot Games’ Allyson Gormley, OS Studios’ Lydia Pendergrass, OpenDrives’ André Rievers, and The Switch’s JD Wu.

PGL’s Sebastian Honciuc and Esports Engine’s Paul Kent joined EA’s Joe Lynch for a discussion about producing major championships and large-scale events.

No live-production sector has pushed the boundaries of technology over the past decade more than esports when it comes to creating a unique fan experience. From virtual production and augmented reality to AI and machine learning and beyond, esports productions are always looking to embrace the latest and greatest tech. Riot Games’, Esports Engine’s Randell (Guru) Hammond, Pixotope’s Andy Smith, and Panasonic’s Keith Vidger discussed today’s groundbreaking tools and how they are changing live esports production.

No piece of the esports-production ecosystem is more integral to telling the story than the observer team. As virtual in-game camera operators, observers are responsible for constructing a coherent narrative out of the ballistic, expansive action taking place within the game. An afternoon session took deep dive into the observer workflows used by one of the most accomplished VALORANT observers — Heather “sapphiRe” Garozzo — to tell the story of this popular Riot Games esports title.

Whether it’s an esports-specific facility or a multi-use building, today’s venues have the opportunity to connect with esports fans like never before. The day closed with Dunn, who also oversees production operations at Esports Stadium Arlington, joining Allied Esports CEO/Founder Tyler Endres and HyperX Arena Brand Ambassador Austy Champion to provide inside look at the latest back-of-house technology developments and how esports venues and event organizers are taking fan-engagement to a new level.

The day also featured a pair of case studies. Sony’s Hugo Gaggioni presented on how cloud-based live production solutions utilizing advanced HEVC codec technology will revolutionize esports production by delivering higher quality video with reduced bandwidth requirements. And Ross Video’s Terry Daily explored how Rocket Surgery Virtual Productions partnered with the ESL FACEIT Group and delivered immersive Augmented Reality (AR) graphics on Unreal Engine for their premier esports event, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) returned to Cologne, Germany.

The 2023 SVG Esports Production Summit was made possible by Diamond Sponsors Canon, Open Drives, and The Switch; Gold Sponsors Evertz, Panasonic Connect, Program Productions, and RTS; Case Study Sponsors Ross Video and Sony; and Event Sponsors Fortinet, NEP, Pixotope, and TAG Video Systems.