Josep Maria Bartomeu, President of Barcelona, has said the Spanish champions will not participate in esports titles they deem to be too violent.
The club made their first inroads into competitive gaming in 2018 after joining the eFootball.Pro league, competed on Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) title. The Catalan club further expanded their esports presence by signing a team to compete in Rocket League in April last year.
However, Bartomeu has cooled talk of mass Barca expansion into the esports sector by specifically ruling out games that incorporate violence, believing it does not fit the club’s brand.
Speaking to Radio Marca, the 57-year-old said: “We have teams in Asia that compete with the colours of Barca but because of our values we don't want to participate in violent games, which are 80 per cent.”
Though Bartomeu did not mention any specific games, a look at the esports landscape shows the popularity of first-person shooters such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty. However, titles such as League of Legends or Fortnite, which qualify as ‘strategy’, are apparently acceptable and could be the focus of the club’s work in that area, according to Palco23.
The Spanish business outlet reports that Barca are looking at securing a partnership with a Chinese esports team in the coming months. The club are apparently seeking to franchise their brand to an existing property in order to enter the largest global gaming market with a solid foundation.