BURBANK, Calif. March 29, 2017 – Today, NGE (Next Generation Esports) and Cygames announced the first season of the NGE Shadowverse Open. Starting today, players of the hit multiplayer turn-based card game Shadowverse can register to compete in Season 1 of the NGE Shadowverse Open, a three-month series of qualifier tournaments leading up to an online invitational finals round where players will compete for a $10,000 prize pool.

With over 8 million downloads since its initial launch last summer, Shadowverse has experienced massive success. Now, in partnership with Cygames, NGE will direct and produce the first official Shadowverse league for North America. The NGE Shadowverse Open will be broadcast live to Twitch.tv from the NGE Studios in Burbank, California, with videos on-demand being made available on Youtube.

Yuito Kimura, Shadowverse Producer and Executive Director at Cygames said, “Following the wild success of Shadowverse’s esports activities in Japan, we felt it was time to bring the excitement to North America. With NGE’s rich esports pedigree we believe they will be the ideal partner to champion our North America rollout.”

Andy Vander Woude, co-founder and CEO of NGE said, “Shadowverse is a fresh take on digital CCG that is accessible to nearly any gamer, whether they play on PC or mobile. We’re very excited to introduce Shadowverse to the west and give it the esports treatment it deserves.”

The NGE Shadowverse Open will begin on April 4th, and will be broadcast on Twitch. For additional broadcast and signup information visit the NGE Shadowverse Open website at shadowverse.nge.io.

About Cygames, Inc.
Cygames, Inc. is an acclaimed developer and operator of popular social games. Formed as a CyberAgent group company in May, 2011, Cygames always strives to provide the best in entertainment. Cygames’ first title, Shingeki no Bahamut (Rage of Bahamut), revolutionized mobile card games when it was released in September 2011. The company’s next ground-breaking adventure, Granblue Fantasy, expanded the possibilities of mobile gaming with a monumental story and dozens of voice actors. In order to create the best content, Cygames put fun first.

About NGE
NGE (Next Generation Esports) is a premier independent esports production company. NGE produces high quality live-streamed competitive gaming broadcasts and events with a growing catalog of top esports titles from partners including Blizzard, Psyonix, Super Evil Megacorp, Supercell, and Stunlock Studios. NGE was founded in 2015 by industry veterans with a passion for creating premium esports entertainment. Broadcasting from its studios in Burbank, California, NGE strives to unify gamers as competitors, spectators, and community. For more information, visit www.nge.io.