Video game entertainment company Ampverse, and digital entertainment network POPS Worldwide have entered a partnership to develop an original video game content series to be broadcast on the POPS over-the-top (OTT) video platform.

The video game content series consists of 50 original videos and will feature Ampverse’s esports team, Bacon Time, one of the largest esports teams in Southeast Asia. The series follows Bacon Time’s journey into the Free Fire Pro League, introducing audiences to the inner workings of a professional esports team with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. 

This partnership follows a highly successful tie-up earlier this year between POPS and Ampverse as a way to reach Gen-Z audiences at scale. The deal involved original content programming, live-streaming, pro team sponsorship, and social branding, resulting in over 80 million views for POPS-branded video assets in just four months.

Bacon Time, who was recently ranked as having the largest social presence across all teams in Southeast Asia, will be competing in the Free Fire Pro League, the professional tournament of popular mobile game Free Fire. The esports team is also currently competing in the Arena of Valor (AOV) Premier League, featuring top teams across Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

With an increase in digital entertainment consumption in 2020, these partnerships are a result of Ampverse strategically moving into original content production, which includes developing a suite of owned content slated for release in the second half of 2020 and 2021.

Commenting on the partnership with POPS Worldwide, Ferdinand Gutierrez, Co-founder, and CEO of Ampverse, said, “When communities flourish, awesome things happen. Ampverse and POPS share the same belief that communities are the gateway to pop culture in Southeast Asia.

That’s why at Ampverse we’re building a universe of engaged video game communities across Southeast Asia. This latest partnership with POPS is an important step in the evolution of the company as we move into the original content space.”

Esther Nguyen, CEO of POPS Worldwide, added, “We’re on a mission to acquire the best content across a variety of categories, with gaming being a big focus for us. The first wave of content that Ampverse produced had some of the highest engagement rates on our platform to date. We are thrilled about developing this content series with Ampverse, and to continue this collaboration in the dynamic and high-adrenaline esports and gaming sector.”