Level 3 Streams CCP Games' EVE Online Alliance Tournament

By Calvin Azuri

TMCnet Contributor

 

Level 3 Communications (News - Alert), Inc., has announced the expansion of its relationship with CCP Games. Live online streaming of this game will be provided by Level 3 Communications, under the expanded terms of the contract.

 

The Alliance Tournament runs over three consecutive weekends in June.

 

The finals will take place on June 19 and 20, from 3 to 9 p.m. GMT. 60,453 starship pilots zoomed around the expansive, single server cluster universe during the first weekend of the tournament. With this a new peak concurrent user also known as PCU record for the tournament was broken by EVE Online.

 

"This is the eighth Alliance Tournament we've hosted, and we're committed to making it the biggest and best tournament yet - both for the players and those tuning in to watch the action," said In a release, Jón Hörðdal, COO for CCP. "With Level 3, we knew we had a reliable CDN that could handle the record-breaking traffic spikes we're experiencing for this event, and now we are also taking advantage of their live event support team in order to ensure the best quality online viewing experience.'

 

Live online streaming of the Alliance Tournament is delivered by Level 3 via the EVE Online website. High-definition or HD video display of the battle is accessible to the viewers along with expert commentary. Viewers also have access to the discussion of the tournament and teams by CCP developers and experts between matches.

 

Peak bandwidth utilization rates of 33 Gigabits per second were created with more than 50 percent online users opting for the HD-quality stream to watch the live event over the first two weekends of the tournament.

 

In a release, James Heard, president, European Markets at Level 3 said, "We're proud that CCP's experience thus far with Level 3 has lead them to expand their relationship with us and make the most of the portfolio of services we offer." Heard added with growth in online games industry, companies like CCP are realizing the full potential of companies they work with for their content delivery, analytics and live event support.