Crunchyroll Partners With EVO 2023

Credit: EVO

Anime network Crunchyroll and fighting game competition EVO have partnered for the upcoming EVO 2023, taking place Aug. 4-6, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but both companies are owned in full or in part by divisions of Sony.

As part of this collaborative effort, Crunchyroll will offer a number of activities and activations during the event including access to its games (such as Street Fighter: Duel) in the 10,000-square-foot retro arcade, DJ performances (K?D, Shihori, Meirlin, Hyper Potions, James Landino, VGR, and Kino are scheduled to perform Friday and Saturday at the Crunchyroll booth), photo ops (SPY x FAMILY and JUJUTSU KAISEN), collectibles from popular anime in Crunchyroll’s catalog, and more activities to be revealed at a later date.

On a related note, EVO 2023 has seen a record number of player registrations across all competitive games, as detailed in this report for Esports Illustrated. Organizers claim that this year’s event has seen an 81% increase in player registrations, and more than 20,000 tickets sold so far.

Crunchyroll is a U.S.-based entertainment network owned by Sony Group focused on the distribution and licensing of Japanese anime, films, and television series. EVO is a joint-venture formed by Sony Interactive Entertainment and RTS in March of 2021.