Canadian Publishing Industry News
13 July 2021,     TORONTO
Torstar and Enthusiast Gaming partner for new platform
 
 
Torstar Corp. and Enthusiast Gaming have formed a joint venture to create an online news platform aimed at Gen Z communities in English-speaking countries around the world. The new AFK platform will adopt a tone and format that’s similar to online video games like Fortnite and Call of Duty.
            The platform is expected to go live in September. AFK—a gamer term for “away from keyboard”—and represents Enthusiast’s strategy of engaging the gamer crowd with a variety of content while they’re not playing.
           
 
 “When a young person is playing Fortnite or playing Call of Duty, they’re actually on the servers of the game publisher. . . And when they’re done, they’re going to go to websites, they’re going to join forums, they’re going to go to follow say their favourite teams,” said Enthusiast Gaming CEO Adrian Montgomery.
            Enthusiast Gaming provides this audience with content geared to their interests through a variety of online platforms, including its own website and YouTube channel. The company generates revenue from advertising and subscriptions.