Wargaming Will Invest $10m in eSports in 2014

Publisher Wargaming will invest $10m into World of Tanks eSports strategy this year.

Wargaming CEO Victor Kisyli, in a press conference in Warsaw described the 2014 plan. The investment comes for World of Tanks increased popularity amongst gamers.

"In the beginning, it was not so much us who wanted to introduce World of Tanks to eSports," says Kisyli. "It was the players themselves who wanted to be more competitive."

Kisyli also revealed that Wargaming has a special team solely dedicated to expanding the company's presence in eSports. "They take care not only about game features... but also about the physical organisation of the tournaments."

30,000 pro players participated in 120 World of Tanks tournaments in 2012, while in 2013 the year in which Wargaming invested $8m in its eSports division, that number rose to 200,000 players participating in more than 1000 tournaments.

Kisyly also confirmed that World of Tanks now has 80 million registered players.