Endemol Shine Goes Digital on Legends of Gaming

Randel Bryan, director of digital content at Endemol Shine Beyond UK, talks with TV Formats about the international adaptations of the British competition series Legends of Gaming.

Playing under outlandish monikers such as Mcsportzhawk and GassyMexican, popular YouTube gamers come together in the Endemol Shine format Legends of Gaming for a chance to win ultimate-gamer bragging rights.

The series, which was first produced in the U.K., is a twist on the popular eSports genre, in which various competitors take on multiplayer video games.

“When we were originally developing our show ideas, it was a really young bunch of creatives who understood the trends and what was happening on YouTube and across digital platforms,” says Randel Bryan, director of digital content at Endemol Shine Beyond UK. “One of the things they identified is that there was this absolutely massive growing trend of YouTube gamers. We knew there was a huge audience and we knew the gaming cottage industry was trending, but no one had yet put their arms around that phenomenon.”

According to Bryan, the show was quickly built using a simple premise: an assortment of YouTube personalities from within the youth-skewing gaming world go head-to-head to find out who will be crowned video game champion. The original U.K. format premiered in 2014 and has since been adapted worldwide, with Bryan stating it will be out in nine markets by year’s end. It’s already aired in the U.S., Germany, France, Chile and Brazil, with Spanish and Dutch versions in the works.

“I think Legends of Gaming is one of the first truly global digitally native formats,” he says.

Bryan chalks up the success of the title to the near universality of gaming content and gamers, as well as the global reach of YouTube, which streams the various iterations of the format.

“YouTube really is a global platform,” he says. “However, the YouTube content and its fandom are driven by local creators. We wanted to take this global format idea and then cast local superstars in order to be relevant in those markets.”

Besides signing up regional talent, Bryan says the choice of games can vary from country to country.

“In Asia, you’re much more likely to have a trending video if you play in a great fantasy game or a massive open-world game,” he says. “In the U.K., we really get a lot of traction from first-person shooters, like Call of Duty. In every version, you have to give them the freedom to feature their own games and trends.”

Overall, Bryan states that the key to getting young audiences from anywhere in the world to tune in is to keep the tone fun and light.

“We’re not trying to be a sports show, we’re trying to be a fun gaming tournament,” he says. “We’re merging games with talent to create great entertainment.”