K-Swiss designing a sneaker for Immortals esports teams

The sneaker will also be available to us regular folks, too.

Image via Immortals/K-Swiss

Footwear isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when considering esports gear. Keyboards, mice, monitors—that’s more esports’ speed. But sneakers can apparently be optimized for esports players, according to K-Swiss and esports organization Immortals.

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The footwear brand is partnering with Immortals to create two sneakers for professional gamers, a lifestyle shoe and a technical performance model. It’s a “first-of-its-kind” partnership for an esports team. K-Swiss’ esports offerings aren’t exclusively for Immortals, either. Regular folks will also be able to purchase a pair of either Immortals-branded kicks.

Players and teams have long customized already-existing sneakers to coincide with team branding, but a specifically designed technical esports shoe? That’s a first.

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K-Swiss’ esports lifestyle shoe is a version of the brand’s Kompass sneaker, just dazzled up with Immortals coloring. It’ll launch in December for $110 at select retailers and at the K-Swiss website. But more interesting is the performance shoe that K-Swiss will design for the team.

“Like any professional athlete, esports competitors look for any advantage they can use against their opponents,” Immortals CEO Noah Whinston said in a statement. “By wearing a uniquely designed shoe specifically created for our esports players with their input, they know that they have an immediate advantage—both physically and psychologically.”

K-Swiss will bring “scientific research” to the shoe, and visit Immortals training facility in Los Angeles to get input from players. “Movement of feet during a match” and “rising temperature in a shoe” will be considered by the K-Swiss research team. The technical esports shoe will also be available to the public sometime in early 2019, according to the press release.

K-Swiss and Immortals will document the entire shoe design process and broadcast the videos on K-Swiss and Immortals social media channels.

Author
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Nicole Carpenter
Nicole Carpenter is a reporter for Dot Esports. She lives in Massachusetts with her cat, Puppy, and dog, Major. She's a Zenyatta main who'd rather be playing D.Va.