Michael Sepso (born June 25, 1972) is an American

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, media and technology entrepreneur and currently co-founder and CEO of Vindex, a gaming and esports technology infrastructure business. He is the co-founder of

Major League Gaming Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) was a professional esports organization based in New York City. Founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, MLG held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. The ''Boos ...

, a professional

esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

league and media company acquired by video game publisher Activision Blizzard in December 2015 Major League Gaming (MLG), is a professional

organization. Sepso and co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni founded MLG in 2002.

Life and career

Major League Gaming

, or MLG, is arguably the first professional

organization. Headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, MLG holds official video game tournaments throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. MLG's aim from its founding was to bring computer and console game competitions to the level of spectator sports in terms of competition and production value. Early on, MLG was kept afloat exclusively through financing from its founders. In 2006, Oak Investment Partners, a local venture capital firm, invested in MLG and by 2012 it had invested nearly $60 million in the league. In 2006, MLG broadcast their

Halo 2 ''Halo 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox console. ''Halo 2'' is the second installment in the ''Halo'' franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclai ...

Pro Series on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

as the TV program

Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit ''Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit'' is a television program on US cable television network USA Network, USA, and later G4 (U.S. TV channel), G4, airing recordings of the Major League Gaming (MLG) ''Halo 2'' Pro Circuit in 2006 and 2007. It was spons ...

. With the broadcast, MLG became the first televised

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

gaming league in the

. The

ran until 2007, and was also featured on

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

, and other sites. In 2013, MLG.tv, MLG's website, launched video streaming. The online-only platform was one of the first for streaming esports, closely following

the spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

from

Justin.tv Justin.tv was a website created by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt in 2007 to allow anyone to broadcast video online. Justin.tv user accounts were called "channels", like those on YouTube, and users were encouraged t ...

into Twitch.tv in the summer of 2011. Sepso said of MLG.tv, which would later be a driving factor in Activision Blizzad’s acquisition of the company: “The past two or three years started to explode because of

online video Internet video (also known as online video) is digital video that is distributed over the internet. Internet video exists in several formats, the most notable being MPEG-4i AVC, AVCHD, FLV, and MP4. There are several online video hosting se ...

. While we early on did bring MLG to television, the reality is our audience lives online.” In October of 2014, MLG opened the MLG.tv Arena in Columbus,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The 14,000 square feet arena is located near the Easton Town Center and the campus of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. MLG.tv arena’s first live event was the MLG Pro League Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Season 3 Playoffs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepso, Mike American businesspeople 1972 births Esports businesspeople Living people