Hitbox, a European startup that can stream gameplay at 4K resolution, has raised $4 million from World of Tanks developerWargamingand others to further develop livestreaming service in competition with Amazon’s Twitch division.
The deal shows that Vienna, Austria-based Hitbox is making progress in its effort to provide competition to Twitch, which has become a broadcasting and esports juggernaut with more than 100 million monthly active users. Like Twitch, Hitbox hopes to hitch its fortunes to esports, the pro gaming phenomenon which is expected to grow to $1.8 billion by 2018, according to market researcherSuperData Research.