PERL: the app that makes e-sports accessible

It was on his ‘micro-chaussettes’ podcast on YouTube that Lucas Hauchard, alias Squeezie – France’s leading influencer and YouTuber with 17 million subscribers – recently shared his thoughts on esports with his guests. He took the opportunity to highlight a major challenge facing the world of esports: accessibility. And with good reason… between the diversity of teams, the multitude of competitions and the scattered nature of broadcasters, keeping track of all the results live can prove much more complicated than expected. At present, the only solution is to find out about this wide range of platforms for yourself, entirely independently.

Not to mention that this is a world where visibility comes almost entirely from digital sources, particularly via live-streaming platforms such as Twitch, as well as social media. This fact can further exacerbate the fragmentation of non-centralised information.

Squeezie speaks on this subject with full knowledge of the facts, given that in April 2023 he is setting up his own esports club, Gentle Mates, alongside Gotaga and Brawks.

This issue, raised at the time by one of the most influential figures in French gaming, did not go unnoticed and has now been addressed by PERL: an app available on Plaine Images, which aims precisely to centralise all content from the esports scene.

To download the app and discover all its features now, visit the App Store and the Google Play Store.

From a game of Valorant to the origins of the PERL project

The story of PERL began on the Valorant servers, where Valentin Viguier and Nicolas Beille would regularly meet up to play. These two long-time friends, despite having different career paths – one in property, the other in the healthcare sector – share a passion for gaming and esports.

For them, playing video games is also a way of keeping in touch whilst apart. It was during one of their games that an idea emerged: to create a centralised platform that would offer esports fans an intuitive and comprehensive experience. All this via a tool that would allow users to follow tournaments, results, leaderboards, and even replays and live streams of matches from the most popular games, such as League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League, and many others.

After months of work, countless hours of discussion, development and testing, PERL was born.

The popularity and rise of esports as a driving force behind PERL

What motivates Valentin and Nicolas even more are the millions of spectators and players drawn to esports games and competitions.

The figures clearly demonstrate this ever-growing enthusiasm for gaming. The recent League of Legends World Championship semi-finals on 26 October at the Adidas Arena in Paris are a perfect illustration of this. No fewer than 39,000 participants and over 10 million spectators from around the world were in attendance – a record-breaking figure for a semi-final.

This example only serves to confirm the relevance of a solution such as PERL, which meets a growing need for centralisation and accessibility, given the strong fan communities that exist around these games.

PERL’s incubation at Plaine Images and the development of the project

Valentin and Nicolas were welcomed to Plaine Images as part of the Take Off incubation programme. Currently in the second phase of this programme, they are receiving personalised support for a period of 6 to 18 months, aimed at transforming their idea into a concrete and viable business project.

“The programme has supported us with workshops led by professionals in the field of entrepreneurship and a network tailored to each of the projects involved. The support and connections provided by La Plaine Images have helped us to give structure to our dreams, our ideas and our project.”

Valentin Viguier

They began by creating sketches and jotting down ideas on scraps of paper: it was difficult to navigate a field that was initially unfamiliar to them. Nevertheless, they quickly surrounded themselves with talented individuals to bring their ambitions to life. Mattéo, an aspiring developer, was recruited to help and support them with the development of the app. A graphic designer also worked with the team to understand the project and meet the two founders’ expectations by creating a coherent visual identity.

Want to follow the games at the forefront of the esports scene in real time?

Yes, that’s now possible. And looking ahead, Valentin and Nicolas have a clear and simple vision for PERL’s mission: to make esports accessible to everyone, whether they’re hardcore gamers or simply curious amateurs.

The team is currently working on enhancing the platform with regular updates, planning to integrate new games, exclusive features and strategic partnerships. This development reflects PERL’s commitment to adapting to the needs of an ever-growing esports community.

PERL is helping to shape a rapidly changing sector, thereby meeting a need expressed by both influential figures and esports enthusiasts alike.