Esports has grown from a niche hobby into a massive global phenomenon. Millions of people not only play games online but also watch their favourite players via live streams, particularly on dedicated platforms like Twitch.
One company at the forefront of this trend is Germany-based Maze, which specialises in producing and broadcasting gaming events and tournaments. With the launch of the Esport Factory, Europe’s first gaming hub equipped with studios, comprehensive production services and overnight accommodation, designed for both professional and recreational gaming events, Maze is raising the bar and setting new industry standards by leveraging cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships.
A crucial factor in the success of these projects is the integration of Blackmagic Design products, which play a central role in the production and transmission of events.
Founded in 2018, Maze identified the need for a dedicated esports hub early on. The result was the Esport Factory, a multifunctional facility that has quickly become a key player in the esports scene.
“Maze sees itself not just as a service provider but as a partner for companies looking to establish themselves in the gaming sector. We cover a broad spectrum, from project conception and consulting to production,” says Marvin Rohmann, founder and managing director of Maze.
The Esport Factory is a unique innovation hub designed to meet the needs of a fast-evolving esports industry. Its integrated studios allow Maze to offer turnkey solutions to clients, from gaming tournaments to live streamed events.
Maze’s vision was rooted in the idea of creating a flexible, high-performance workflow, enabling the company to produce content at the highest levels. By integrating solutions from Blackmagic Design, Maze built a reliable foundation that allowed it to adapt to the dynamic demands of live esports events.
“At Esport Factory, we have a standard technical setup that allows us to manage medium-sized productions with ease,” says Felix Volkmann, technical director at Maze.
The company has relied on Blackmagic Design technology since 2013, starting with post-production tools like DaVinci Resolve. Today video switchers, routers, broadcast decks and DeckLink I/O cards are all part of its daily operations. “The price-performance ratio is crucial for us, allowing us to remain competitive while delivering professional quality,” Rohmann says.
Flexibility is key in the live esports environment, where changes are frequent and unpredictable. Maze’s use of Blackmagic video routers allows it to connect gaming locations seamlessly across the venue. By using several smaller Smart Videohub 20×20 routers, Maze effectively covers the long distances between spaces at the Esport Factory, ensuring smooth communication and reliable production workflows.
Volkmann adds: “We especially appreciate the user-friendly interface of their hardware, which helps our team quickly adapt to the spontaneous demands during live events.”
One event the team looks forward to is the annual production of Friendly Fire, a notable charity event in Germany’s gaming community. Hosted by the Esport Factory and live streamed to Twitch, some of Germany’s best-known YouTubers, including PietSmiet, Gronkh and Pandorya, gather to raise money for charity. The 12-hour event, produced simultaneously across several studios, typically attracts more than 800,000 viewers.
“The technical requirements are quite demanding,” Volkmann explains. “Since no part of the building is off-limits during the event, our production workflow needs to be highly adaptable.”
Using Blackmagic routers, Maze ensures that the various gaming locations are interconnected, enabling the production team to seamlessly transition between spaces.
One of the key challenges during Friendly Fire is integrating the spontaneous actions of participants into the livestream. “There is a production schedule, but it’s more of a guideline,” Rohmann chuckles. Inspired by the live chat, participants often change locations suddenly, which requires the production team to react quickly. “The intuitive usability of our workflow allows us to make these on-the-fly changes with ease,” Volkmann adds.
A highlight of the Friendly Fire livestream is a game of hide-and-seek, where participants run throughout the venue. To ensure they aren’t spotted on the live broadcast, Blackmagic’s programmable macros in the ATEM switchers are used to change content on talent reference monitors with a single click.
Additionally, Maze employs HyperDeck broadcast decks to record camera ISOs and the livestream in 1080p50. The decks enable the recorded content to be instantly available on the network via FTP, without the need for memory cards. “This is extremely convenient, especially when we need to quickly provide the material for further processing,” Volkmann notes.
The future of competitive gaming
Esport Factory has become a flagship project for innovative media technology in the gaming sector. Its successful execution of the Friendly Fire live stream production demonstrates how critical the right technical infrastructure is to the success of esports events.
With its forward-thinking approach, Maze and the Esport Factory are positioned to remain key players in the evolving esports industry. “We plan to continue relying on the proven technology, like Blackmagic Design, in the future and have plans to expand our technical infrastructure to enable even larger and more complex productions,” Rohmann concludes.
