EVO's Las Vegas Takeover: 5 Key Highlights for the 2024 Gaming Industry
EVO 2024, the Evolution Championship Series.
The EVO 2024 takeover in Las Vegas was one to remember. It arguably redefined the standards of every other gaming convention. The competition lasted for three days, from July 19 to 21, and an astonishing turnout of 10,000 competitors and 60,000 fans was recorded—this year was definitely EVO's largest event.
The Relevance of Fighting Games in 2024
Fighting games have remained relevant in today’s evolving landscape by remaining largely true to their roots. The continued success of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken—all games that have had players button-mashing for decades—is a testament to that. As the landscape around them has tended towards MMOs and RPGs, utilising VR tech, and personal customization, these games have taken what’s needed from these trends and only added the necessary.
Arguably, mobile gaming has been where fighting games have taken off. Mortal Kombat noticed this and successfully released a game in this format. The aesthetics and hallmarks of the other mobile fighting games recall the '90s/00s heyday. Scrolling fighter mechanics with big, cool, and brutal finishers – what’s not to like? It’s the streamlined, arcade style that made these games essential in the first place.
Other niches have also built themselves around this simplicity, which has helped fighting games consolidate what they did right all those years ago. Take poker, for instance. The iGaming industry was an early pioneer in the mobile gaming scene, with the introduction of mobile gaming to its landscape taking the industry through an intense growth machine to produce a billion-dollar industry. While mobile gaming’s convenience is widely regarded as its key quality, it doesn’t mean that those who play are half-interested, half-experts, largely picking it up because it's there. No – it’s a swirl of first-timers and seasoned players. Skill gaps occur, of course, like in all arenas of gaming. There will be those who ask ‘what is a Straddle in Poker’ and those who answer it. But, ultimately, the interest in the game remains strong, and mobile gaming has a lot to do with that.
And it’s this skill gap that defines the EVO. All the environment that surrounds fighting games – whether it’s played on PC, consoles, or mobile – pushes players to their highest level, and it’s there that they find their competition.
So, read on for 5 of the best highlights from the event.
Expanding the Show Floor for the Largest Fighting Game Convention
EVO made the most of its new look including the West Hall, with a massive space of about 600,000 square feet. It left people wondering how the extra space raised the stakes and how many fans would turn up - and the event didn't disappoint.
It is not uncommon for the tournament finals to be held in a different arena, but for this edition of EVO, it was a centralized event. This of course also allowed the fans to have a closer view of every action in every stage of every tournament held, and even better, fans had plenty of time to fill up the gaps in between the games, getting involved in all or some of EVO's better-than-ever engaging elements.
The additional space also cemented EVO's standing as the most ground-breaking event in the FGC calendar.
The EVO Showcase and Publisher Panels
One of the features that made this year's EVO a success was the EVO Showcase, which became the main focus on the first day of the event. Capcom, Bandai Namco, Riot Games, and Arc System Works were some of the gaming publishers and developers whose panels were influencing the future of fighting games.
Inside looks were filled with exclusive announcements, game trailers, and talks about the new flagship titles, along with shows and teases of new parts to well-known series. The showcase was a demonstration of competition and communities blending together and providing insights for the fans about FGC, making them eager for the next round of games.
Interestingly enough, Riot Games opened up on additional details regarding their new fighting title 2XKO, showing it'll have a more competitive edge in the eSport fighting space.
Through the EVO Showcase, the developers and the fans were one.
Artist Alley, Cosplay Contest, and Beyond the Arcade Stick Museum
At EVO 2024, time was in abundance for endless canvassing techniques to be captured as a means to further an outreach strategy of igniting the FGC.
The first was an international artist competition with multiple themes organized with the hope that unsuspecting artist collaborations in the form of WAFIO would materialize.
Volume 3 of UCC would then launch the FGC, showing international artists a finished product creeping into BD and utilizing logos like Kosuke's clothing line and Ma1tambal's name descending from Machang Mecha Parato's Christmas tree ad subsidies.
There was more room for innovation with Takeya Yuuta living up to that expectation, delivering stellar Neku Street School in a CAHV administration at class level that many feared was a challenging requirement. Takeya had his work cut out for him, and it helped spread anime love throughout Europe.
There were so many more we could discuss!
A Spotlight on Inclusivity and Newcomers in Gaming
Evo 2024 was all the more commendable thanks to its focus on East and everybody in the fighting game community. Beyond competitive tournaments, EVO featured Bring Your Own (BYO) registration where everyone, including novices, was encouraged to participate. Even fans who did not qualify for main tournaments were able to join the competition at a lower level and perform.
The fact that one of the EVO 2024 Community Championships had competitions organized by local organizers also supported this. The aim of this initiative was to recognize the support base of the FGC as represented by EVO and to demonstrate that EVO is there for all players, not just the top ones.
The Influence of Major Brand Sponsorships
EVO 2024 included a number of brand deals, as several companies like Chipotle, PlayStation, AT&T, and Red Bull were clearly visible across the venue.
In their capacity as sponsors, Chipotle gave out free entrée cards to first-round competitors and special co-branded merchandise to third-round players. One of their most popular areas was the Chipotle Community Lounge, which provided a quiet area for fans, giveaways, and the opportunity to view matches.
Play Station consoles were used as the major set for all matches, and all players had the latest equipment. Other brand partners, like Razer and Red Bull, were involved in the event by establishing competitive stages and providing special kits for loyal fans.
With the event being so massive, it'll be interesting to see what the 2025 event will be like with the next location confirmed to be in France with six mainstage games playable at the event. And with it being the first EVO event to be held in Europe, it'll be interesting to see how and if it can outshine the Las Vegas event. But with the Las Vegas event being so massive, it'll have its work cut out!