Hot New Game from Velan Studios and EA to be Featured in ECAC Tournaments and Leagues
Danbury, Conn. – Aug. 24, 2021 – The ECAC is thrilled to announce that Knockout City, the action-packed team-based multiplayer game from Velan Studios and Electronic Arts that brings skill, depth and style to the game of dodgeball, will be played in the competitive intercollegiate space by ECAC Esports member schools this coming season. Knockout City was released in May of this year, and within two weeks had attracted 5 million players worldwide. This arrangement marks the game’s initial foray into organized varsity intercollegiate competition.
The ECAC, an 84-year old intercollegiate athletics conference with over 300 member schools across every region of the country and all three NCAA Divisions, established a national esports program four years ago. What began with 12 schools that first season has now expanded to over 120, with more than 450 teams and 3,000 student-athletes, with competition in eleven different esports games and leagues in both fall and spring.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Velan Studios to make this exciting and popular game available to all of our ECAC competitors,” said ECAC Commissioner Dan Coonan. “This collaboration was born of our unique relationship with the Capital Region, which has grown into one of the nation’s foremost gaming community hubs. We can’t wait to see our teams playing and mastering Knockout City.”
“Knockout City is based around the simple concept of throwing and catching but we designed it to have a very high skill ceiling for competitive play,” said Jeremy Russo, Game Director at Velan Studios. “We’re excited to see the competitive scene for Knockout City continue to grow and look forward to watching the athletes in the ECAC compete for dodgebrawl glory in the intercollegiate space.”
The ECAC will conduct tournaments and exhibitions for its members playing Knockout City in the fall, with more extensive competition planned for the spring. Velan Studios is located in New York’s Capital Region in the City of Troy, next to Albany. The ECAC has hosted its ECAC Esports championships in Albany, with a grant from the Center for Economic Growth.
About ECAC:
The ECAC, an 84-year old intercollegiate athletics conference with over 300 member schools across every region of the country and all three NCAA Divisions, established a national esports program four years ago. What began with 12 schools that first season has now expanded to over 120, with more than 450 teams and 3,000 student-athletes, with competition in eleven different esports games and leagues in both fall and spring.
About Velan:
Velan Studios was founded in 2016 by game industry veterans Guha and Karthik Bala to create breakthrough games that are magic. Published by Nintendo, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is the studio’s first release. The Velan team is comprised of world class game makers who have worked on several of the most innovative game franchises of the last 20 years. The studio is based in Troy, NY, the center of Upstate New York’s growing game development cluster. For more information about Velan, please visit https://www.velanstudios.com/.