gamescom is currently taking place in Cologne until 24 August. This year, the world’s largest trade fair for computer and video games is once again attracting visitors to the exhibition grounds in the cathedral city. Manufacturers from around the world showcase their companies and products, amongst them also ESL and Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz has been a sponsor of ESL since 2017 and at its stand the company offers an innovative driving experience behind the wheel of an all-electric car featuring EQC in-car gaming. In the driver’s seat of the parked vehicle, visitors can play the “SuperTuxKart” racing simulation on the display of the MBUX infotainment system in the Mercedes-Benz EQC. The games is controlled with the steering wheel and pedals. This makes the EQC a further Mercedes-Benz model to have this show feature following the in-car gaming CLA. The feature is not yet available as standard. It rather shows what the future may look like.
The fact that interactive infotainment plays a major role at Mercedes-Benz is also evident in Alexander Satanowsky, NeXt Scouting Daimler AG manager, being part of the panel during a satellite event at gamescom. It addressed the question of how the automotive mobility is changing and what future role gaming could play in the vehicle.
With the in-car gaming CLA and a corresponding presentation by Alexander Satanowsky, the future of interactive entertainment also formed part of the Mercedes-Benz media day at SK Gaming. In contrast to gaming in Mercedes-Benz vehicles, it focused primarily on SK Gaming eSports pros and their training routine. Concurrent with gamescom, media representatives had the opportunity to obtain insights into the structures of SK Gaming. SK Gaming is a pioneer in eSports with regard to a sustainable treatment of its players. In addition to a long-term development of successful teams and players, SK Gaming attaches great importance to schooling, fitness, health and sharing of social values, factors that were important to Mercedes-Benz in making the decision to invest in the SK Gaming eSports team.
“Apart from the shared values of SK Gaming and Mercedes-Benz, we had numerous other reasons to invest in a leading eSports organisation such as SK Gaming”, Bettina Fetzer, Head of Mercedes-Benz Marketing, explains. “From the outset, we did not want to be purely a sponsoring partner, but an organic part of the eSports community. As part of this community, we benefit as a brand from an intensive establishment of expertise, access to insights and an authentic perception of our activities in the eSports world”, Fetzer adds. During a behind-the-scenes tour of the new SK Gaming training space at the Cologne site, journalists were given exclusive insights into the work of professional eSports athletes, in which the cooperation between SK Gaming and Mercedes-Benz was analysed in greater detail from different perspectives as part of discussions.
View the following video for more impressions of the partnership between Mercedes-Benz and SK Gaming: Mercedes-Benz and SK Gaming in eSports