Esports Giant TSM Forges Ahead With Web3 Gaming on Avalanche

Despite the collapse of FTX and a scrapped $210 million naming rights deal, Team SoloMid’s affinity for crypto hasn’t soured. In fact, the esports org also known as TSM is now building its own crypto sub-network on Avalanche to facilitate esports transactions and tournaments, TSM parent company Swift announced Tuesday.

Swift, which also owns the Blitz Esports platform, is building the blockchain sub-network—or “Subnet”—on Avalanche for TSM events. Swift has also chosen crypto payments firm Core for TSM and Blitz, allowing players and fans to “store, sell, and purchase digital assets,” according to a statement. When asked if those assets might be NFTs, Ava Labs’ Head of Gaming Ed Chang explained to Decrypt via email that such details have not yet been finalized. 

The Blitz Subnet will use Avalanche’s AVAX token for network transaction fees, also known as gas fees. Swift plans to convert its Avalanche Subnet into an “Elastic Subnet” in the future, meaning that users will be able to become validators for the network by locking up or “staking” crypto tokens and will earn financial rewards in exchange under the “proof of stake” validation mechanism.

“Web3 gaming is still quite early,” TSM and Swift CEO Andy Dinh told Decrypt via email. “It’s very exciting, but it will take time to materialize.”

As one of the largest esports orgs, TSM is known for its “League of Legends” (LoL) professional team, while Blitz offers in-game overlays for LoL as well as for AAA games like “Apex Legends,” “Valorant,” and “Teamfight Tactics” and currently boasts over 30 million users. 

“Partnering with TSM brings truly innovative gaming experiences to players around the world,” said John Wu, president of Ava Labs, the developers behind Avalanche. “Avalanche’s fully customizable subnets were created to help organizations push the boundaries of what is possible for gaming with sub-second transaction speed, scalability, and security for millions of users.”

When asked why TSM chose Avalanche over other blockchain networks, Dinh explained that Ava Labs was the most collaborative.

“We think a big part of finding success is finding teams that are easy to work with,” Dinh said. 

TSM’s approach to Web3 involves building products over time that are “authentic to the space and add value,” Dinh added.