The Shanghai government is planning to promote e-sports, according to reports from the 2019 China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy).
The Shanghai New International Expo Center hosted the event from August 2 to 5, an influential gathering in the global digital entertainment industry, showcasing online games, console games, web games, hardware products related to digital entertainment, as well as announcing supporting policies for the development of Pudong’s e-sports industry, the Paper reported.
There were seven main supporting policies announced by the Shanghai government, covering e-sports companies, e-sports venues, e-sports clubs and e-sports athletes.
First and foremost was support to boost the output by funding related enterprises. Those who are to be listed on the main board or the Sci-Tech innovation board (STAR Market) board would receive up to five million yuan.
Second, in order to help e-sports companies strengthen their dominant position in the industry, they could be handed up to two million yuan to rent premises and no more than 500,000 yuan for internal furnishings.
Third, authorities would attract premium clubs, direct broadcasters and event operating companies to settle in Pudong by handing out up to two million yuan.
Fourth, e-sports clubs who have achieved outstanding results in the world’s top competitions would be awarded up to two million yuan.
Fifth, the government would offer a subsidy of up to 10 million yuan each for constructing multi-level e-sports venues. Those already built would be granted a maximum of no more than two million yuan for operations.
Sixth, the city would be ready to receive recognized international e-sports professional competitions by giving them a subsidy of up to three million yuan each.
Lastly, registered e-sports athletes with outstanding performances would be given priority for apartments, household registrations and school enrollments.
According to information from the 2019 Global E-Sports Conference, more than 80% of the e-sports clubs in the country are in Shanghai.
Shanghai was also the first choice for large-scale competitions across China, 40% of which are held in the city annually. Among them, the League of Legends Professional League, the King Glory Professional League and the DOTA2 Shanghai Grand Championship were the most notable.