Sansar has announced that it will be working with professional esports teams to bring their games and players into Virtual Reality, where fans can watch and interact.

Overwatch League is the first to team up with Sansar, a social virtual reality platform created by Linden Labs, to create virtual clubhouses as part of an initiative to bring fans closer to the players. The Houston Outlaws and San Francisco Shock will use the virtual clubhouses to create memorable fan experiences for everyone worldwide. Overwatch league fans will be able to participate in virtual meet-and-greets and photo-ops with their favorite players, buy virtual merchandise featuring the teams’ logos and stream live matches. If you view the match it will be a new experience like no other because in the VR clubhouse you will be immersed in the event in real-time.

“We’ve seen a real need in the esports market for a deeper, more engaging fan experience — something that can go beyond normal spectatorship to really draw people in,” said Linden Lab’s CEO, Ebbe Altberg. “We feel social VR is perfectly poised to meet this need, and we’re thrilled to find forward-thinking esports partners that feel the same — trailblazing teams that recognize VR’s potential and are willing to evolve and innovate to deliver world-class experiences. Their investments in Sansar are investments in their communities.”

The Shock VR arena will be named Epicenter and the Outlaws virtual space will be called Hideout. The Shock will release the VR arena on Sansar while unveiling it live at the 2018 Shock Watch Party Event at Mountain View, California’s Computer History Museum on May 25 at 6 PM. The fans can enjoy virtual content, interactive events and giveaways in person and in the VR space on Sansar. “We’re always trying to make the NRG/Shock fan experience as unique and exciting as possible, and embarking on this project with Sansar is helping us achieve exactly that,” said Andy Miller, owner and CEO of NRG Esports and the San Francisco Shock. “Fans now have a new cutting edge shared space to support the team, regardless of where they live. Our community is amazing and I can’t wait to see what the community ends up doing with it!”

Outlaws will officially unveil the VR clubhouse to fans at 4 PM on May 18 at the Outlaws 2018 Block Party at Coral Sword. The opening two-day event will be a live streamed and will include team trivia and giveaways and for fans all over the world on Sansar. “We are beyond excited to be able to provide a club house that Outlaws fans can access and be a part of the watch party community from anywhere in the world,” Simon Bennett, VP of Marketing at Infinite Esports & Entertainment who own the Outlaws said. “We hear calls for watch parties from China, Australia, UK and all over the world, and working with the insanely talented team at Sansar to make this a reality (virtually) has been a dream come true for us all. We can’t wait to show the community their virtual home away from home.”

This initiative comes as a way for players to feel more connected to the league because not everyone is able to go the arenas and watch the matches live. This is a new everyday asset for teams, fans and organizations to move past the traditional streaming platforms to create an interactive experienc