Gfinity appointed tournament partner for Microsoft Xbox competition

Shares in Gfinity climbed on Thursday after the eSports business announced it had been appointed the official tournament partner for Microsoft's Turn 10 Studios' Forza Racing Championship on Xbox.

Forza RC is a four week competition beginning with an event at Microsoft's store in New York, showcasing 18 of ForzaRC's players to participate in either the Forza Motorsport 6 competion for elite drivers or the Forza Horizon 3 competiotion for casual players.

Each gamer will race in a variety of Porsche models with the final event at an undisclosed location, with the winners taking home $100,000 in cash.

AIM-listed Gfinity will provide the bespoke technology to host the tournament and broadcast online and offline for the first time via Twitch, a video platform and community for gamers.

Gfinity chief executive Neville Upton said: "Gfinity has spent years dedicated to building the best eSports tournament designs and platforms in the world, and we are beginning to receive international recognition for it.

“Microsoft and Xbox have always been at the forefront in gaming, and we are looking forward to working closely with their world class team to deliver the most exciting and engaging Forza tournament ever."

Shares were up 13.25% to 21.80p at 0817 BST.