07.17.23 - Esports Weekly Digest

?? Esports Weekly Digest - News Recap: 07.10.23 - 07.17.23

This past week the Washington Commanders became the first National Football League (NFL) franchise to be able to sell sponsorship assets in a virtual version of their stadium via StatusPRO ’s NFL Pro Era: an officially licensed NFL game on VR. Find out more about this story and what all the brands, teams, tournament organizers, and content creators are up to below in the full newsletter!?

Brands:? 百事 , AT&T , 阿迪达斯 , 拉尔夫·劳伦 , Dairy MAX Inc. , DrayTek Corp. , Mobil 1

Teams, Leagues, and Organizers: 美国艺电公司 , Gamers8, Dairy MAX Inc. , EPIC.LAN , Crunchyroll , Evolution Championship Series , Scopely , Boys & Girls Clubs of America , Tribe Gaming , OpTic Gaming , FaZe Clan , G2 Esports , NASCAR , Roblox , Meta , Dplus

Content Creators: Jimmy Donaldson , Cody “Clix” Conrod, Seth "Scump" Abner

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?? Partnerships and Collaborations:

百事 announced a new multi-year global partnership with 美国艺电公司 SPORTS, making three of its flagship brands - Pepsi, Gatorade, and Lay's - new partners of EA SPORTS FC. The strategic agreement will see both parties collaborate on a plethora of activations, including entertainment crossovers, in-game integrations, and on-pack promotions that will grant fans access to exclusive experiences and in-game rewards. (Source)

Mobile-focused esports organization Tribe Gaming announced a multi-year strategic partnership with telecommunications company AT&T . As the official telecom partner of Tribe Gaming, AT&T will have branding assets across Tribe Gaming’s jerseys and creators, specifically leveraging Tribe Gaming creators as brand ambassadors for exclusive content opportunities. The organization competes in mobile esports titles including Brawl Stars, Call of Duty: Mobile, Clash Royale and Clash of Clans. (Source)

Saudi Arabian esports and gaming festival Gamers8 announced a partnership with 阿迪达斯 to launch a line of co-branded merchandise that’s available during the 8-week event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Additionally, adidas will showcase designs on its activation booth during the event. (Source)

Esports holding company GameSquare Holdings Inc. and regional dairy council Dairy MAX Inc. launched ‘Level Unlocked’, a gaming campaign that includes Complexity Gaming and marketing agency ZONED . The campaign, part of an expanded partnership between both parties, is designed to educate the gaming community about the importance of balanced nutrition and building healthy habits. Dairy MAX will work with gaming creators to produce a creative content series showcasing how they incorporate dairy into their daily routines. (Source)

UK-based gaming and esports event organizer EPIC.LAN announced a partnership with networking hardware manufacturer DrayTek Corp. . As the official network partner of EPIC.LAN, DrayTek will showcase its products at the event and ensure there’s internet access for all participants and visitors of EPIC.LAN. (Source)

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll revealed a collaboration with fighting game event Evolution Championship Series (EVO) for its upcoming tournament taking place August 4-6 in LV, Nevada. Crunchyroll and EVO 2023 are collaborating this year to curate customized experiences for attendees, including DJ performances, games, special guest appearances and giveaways. Crunchyroll will also showcase its recently launched mobile RPG game Street Fighter: Duel. (Source)

?? Content Creator News

Jimmy Donaldson (AKA Mr. Beast) partners with mobile game developer Scopely ’s Battle Royale game Stumble Guys to bring multiple new in-game levels, characters, interactive features, emotes, animations and more to life. The new in-game experiences are co-designed by both MrBeast and the Stumble Guys team, with the goal laddering up to celebrate the iconic creator. (Source)

Top Fortnite creator Cody “Clix” Conrod (Agent: Darren Glover ) partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to give him the opportunity to reach out and engage his fanbase in a more substantial way. Clix recently granted a large group of kids from his now local Boys and Girls Club the opportunity to attend Dreamhack Dallas. The club members who attended had a chance to watch Clix play live as well as take part in the entire 3-day weekend worth of events and activations, helping inspire kids' dreams of gaming into reality. (Source)

• Coming out of COVID lockdowns, the Boys and Girls Club of America took a poll from their nearly 5000 locations around the world to see what activities kids wanted to participate in the coming year. For the first time in the organization's history, traditional sports no longer drew the most interest.

Top Call of Duty creator Seth “Scump” Abner unveiled his new $50,000 stream room setup, which included 百事 MTN Dew branding everywhere and a fridge stacked full of its soda. MTN Dew has been an existing partner for Scump and the team he’s on, OpTic Gaming .?

• Following the unveiling by Scump and OpTic Gaming on social channels, MTN Dew announced a sweepstakes for a chance to win the same fridge that’s predominately displyed in his gaming room. (Source) (Source)

?? Org and Publisher News:

Publicly traded gaming, lifestyle, and esports organization FaZe Clan voted to approve a reverse stock split of the company’s outstanding shares of common stock at its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders last week. The ratio of the reverse stock split will be 1-for-20 or 1-for-30 and will be put into effect at a date to be determined. Per THE ESPORTS ADVOCATE , this approval was an expected move as FaZe reportedly had put forth efforts to implement a reverse stock split in April. (Source)

European esports organization G2 Esports and 拉尔夫·劳伦 launched ‘capsule collection,’ which will be worn by athletes and creators, and is available for fans to purchase on G2’s website. G2 Esports’ League of Legends team will debut the collection when it competes in the LEC Summer Playoffs taking place on July 15th. Ralph Lauren has been a global partner of G2 Esports since June 2021. (Source)

Massachusetts-based esports organization Oxygen Esports (OXG) revealed a revamped rebranding which includes an updated look and feel as well as a modernized logo. (Source)

North American esports organization Sentinels announced the launch of a crowdfunding investment campaign on equity crowdfunding platform StartEngine . Individuals can “reserve” shares and invest in Sentinels through the platform at a minimum of $300 USD. Those who invest $500 receive an “entry-level reward” alongside equity in the company. The highest perks for investing will provide “bonus shares, equity, direct access to the management of the company, a chance to meet Sentinels players in-person with a paid trip to Los Angeles, alongside many other exclusive rewards.” (Source)

As part of Gen.G ’s partnerships with Mobil 1 and NASCAR , the esports organization unveiled a? GenG-themed car skin for NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang of Stewart-Haas Racing at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Source)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit related to U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s rejection of a preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s proposed $69B USD acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Tuesday’s decision paved the way for Microsoft to potentially finalize the deal with Activision in a matter of days. Alternatively, the companies could mutually seek to extend that timeframe. (Source 1) (Source 2)

?? Metaverse News:

StatusPRO , a sports technology company that combines pro athlete data with AR and VR capabilities, announced a partnership with Bidstack Sports and the Washington Commanders for a new form of in-game advertising in its title NFL Pro Era. This will allow the Commanders to be the first NFL team to sell sponsorship assets in a virtual version of their stadium. Bidstack’s platform gives franchises the ability to manage what appears in their virtual stadiums. NFL Pro Era plans to integrate Bidstack’s technology into its 30 virtual stadiums starting this season. (Source)

Roblox is set to expand on Meta Quest, bringing a new opportunity for VR consumer adoption. Soon, players will have the opportunity to participate in an open beta on App Labs , enabling them to enjoy their favorite Roblox games in a virtual reality experience. (Source)

South Korean esports organization Dplus KIA announced a partnership with Web3 esports platform Dplus Arena. Dplus KIA will use the capabilities of Dplus Arena to distribute information regarding its players and deliver content surrounding matches and other esports-related activities. Esports fans will have the opportunity to engage with these offerings through Dplus Arena’s Web3 platform. (Source)