Nickelodeon is entering the eSports arena with a new platform dubbed NickX. Viacom Africa is working with Emerge Gaming, a developer and operator of online eSports and casual gaming platform ArcadeX to roll out the new offering.

Launching next month for African users, the kids focused interactive tournament platform will use unique Nickelodeon mobile content, combined with Emerge’s ArcadeX technology. While light on the details about what this content will entail, Nickelodeon does offer a raft of mobile games that combines its properties including Super Brawl Universe and Nickelodeon Kart Racers. 

NickX will be available for free through the Nickelodeon web app, Android app, iOS app and available on all devices. Monetization meanwhile, will be through premium subscriptions, in-app subscriptions and advertising on the platform. The two companies have agreed to equally share the profits.

The new offering will be Nickelodeon’s first interactive eSports platform. However, it did invest in eSports platform Super League Gaming back in 2017. Together with DMG Entertainment and Toba Capital, the kidsnet led a US$15-million Series C funding round for SLG’s amateur eSports platform.

This is Emerge’s first brand partner since launching ArcadeX. It is now seeking other agreements with major brands.

In other Nickelodeon news, the kidcaster has also signed a licensing agreement with brick exhibitor building Bricklive for PAW Patrol (pictured). The five year agreement will see Bricklive produce Nickelodeon-themed promotional exhibits for the PAW Patrol tour in summer 2019, followed by an exhibit for the Nick Jr. tour in fall 2019.

At the first tour, the installation will consist of 15 models of the characters that are between three and four feet tall and built from 25,000-31,000 brick each, as well as a six-and-a-half-foot-tall control tower and a selfie zone fire engine. The first two activations were created using around one million bricks and take around 6,000 hours to build.