Esports Partnerships, Collaborations & Funding in 2019 | Year In Review
Christopher McIntosh
Father / Founder at Hybrid Management Group REI LLC / Executive Chef - Esports Enthusiast - Online Entrepreneur
There’s been some really high-profile Esports Partnerships and Collaborations & Funding in 2019, and we recap the very best in this list…
Esports has been extremely exciting to cover in 2019,. As an industry, it feels like each week there’s a new bombshell partnership landing. I have seen the best in automobile companies down to the best in global fashion labels, it’s becoming almost as much fun to watch the newest sponsorship announcement unfold as it is to watch the tournaments where they’re showcased!
That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to recap some of our favorite esports sponsorship deals that have been announced in 2019,. The caliber of sponsors that are getting involved in esports nowadays signal a very exciting future for the industry.
We selected these sponsorship deals based primarily off the size of the brands involved, how it was received by the community and how well the initial activation came across the community and the industry.
This is just a mere collection of news and announcement links that had the largest impact on me as not only a consumer and industry fan but a young entrepreneur with a startup and a dream. Sometimes the headlines serve as validation and sometimes they are thought-provoking and become a building block at the next strategy meet.
Trying to bring some rhyme and reason to the list I broke it down into these categories than span different aspects of the industry. Teams and Orgs, Auto Industry, Snacks, Fashion | Clothing & Technology and Hardware Fun.
I will Start with an article written by Kimberly Starks from https://hypepotamus.com/ She wrote and nailed the possibilities in Atlanta this year. What an amazing year they did have establishing authority in the esports scene. Some quoted text and I’ll let her take it from there…
January 7, 2019,
Between live-streaming and live spectator experiences, eSports tournaments are the fastest-growing events in Georgia. With an estimated 215 million viewers, according to the World Economic Forum, eSports focuses heavily on the fan experience. It is on pace to compete with traditional sports and attracts a younger audience.
Proprietors are looking forward to growing experiential gaming events like eSports Week in 2019,.
On the talent side, Georgia’s universities have created a community for gamers, with robust collegiate programs fostering the digital entertainment industry and scholarships to support eSports enthusiasts. Students rooted in the rapid growth of the competitive environment bring a wealth of experience and connections to multinational businesses. Several universities such as Georgia State have recently started varsity eSports programs.
Even Georgia’s high schools have eSports teams.
“Georgia has had an amazing surge of both game development studios and eSports events. We also had some of the world’s most watched eSports events, including ELEAGUE, HRX (Hi-Rez Expo) and BCX (Brawlhalla World Championship),” said Andrew Greenberg, president of the Georgia Game Developers Association.
All of this indicates that Georgia is in line with the global economy — the entire eSports industry continues to see significant year-over-year growth. Global eSports revenues grew 38 percent to $906 million in 2018, according to an annual report, and that is projected to hit the billion-dollar-mark to $1.65 billion by 2021. Read More…
https://hypepotamus.com/community/esports-georgia-2019,-outlook/
Teams and Orgs
January 17, 2019,
compLexity Gaming has announced that HyperX will become the teams latest partner. As part of the deal, HyperX gaming headsets, keyboards, mice, mouse pads and internal memory will be used exclusively by compLexity Gaming’s teams’.
Daniel Herz, Chief Revenue Officer and Vice President, Complexity Gaming, had this to say: “HyperX is a leading peripheral brand on the market and with this partnership, our players will be competing and practicing with topnotch equipment, giving them the utmost advantage to be successful. We’re thrilled to be joining a roster of distinguished partners as esports continues to merge with traditional sports and pop culture. With 2019, set out to be an exciting year for Complexity, there is no better brand we want to grow with.”
compLexity is one of North America’s longest-standing organisations in esports. In 2017, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Real Estate tycoon John Goff purchased a majority stake in the team. In 2018, Founder & CEO, Jason Lake became one of the first three inductees into the ESI Hall of Fame. Read More…https://esportsinsider.com/2019,/01/complexity-gaming-announces-partnership-with-hyperx/
August 8, 2019,
Team EnVyUs to receive $35 million investment from Hersh Family Investments, sources say.
The deal is one of the largest reported esports team acquisitions in the history of the industry. Other teams have sold for roughly $15 million to $25 million over the past year, sources familiar with those deals told ESPN.
EnVyUs will relocate to Dallas and assume the Austin-Dallas Overwatch League spot, sources told ESPN on Sunday, as it is in the process of finalizing a deal to participate in the Overwatch League for $20 million. If the deal is finalized as anticipated, Team EnVyUs will be the eighth team to participate in the Overwatch League. Read More…
December 2, 2019
“We are excited to join the New Wave Esports team through the acquisition of EMG,” said Joe Cribari, CEO of Even Matchup Gaming. “We have been actively building our local and national fighting game communities for years and this opportunity will allow us to continue to support them with incredible events for many more years to come. Through our partnership with New Wave Esports, we look forward to further developing the size and quality of the tournaments we produce, and expanding our operations throughout North America.”
“Even Matchup Gaming’s focus on fighting games uniquely positions the company in an important emerging sector of esports,” said Dan Mitre, CEO of New Wave Esports. “Their tournament operator model is integral to the esports industry ecosystem as it is salable and rapidly growing, Each of their events has set record attendance levels as they produce highly-memorable experiences for a hyper-engaged audience. The acquisition of EMG represents a major milestone in our commitment to fully acquire esports properties in order to drive continued growth and profitability in this fast-growing industry, and demonstrates New Wave Esports’ expertise in identifying acquisition opportunities at fair market value.” Read More…
April 17, 2019
Will Smith invests as Gen. G announce $46m funding round. The round also includes investment from Los Angeles Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong, former Chairman of US Investments Alibaba Group Michael Zeisser, and MasterClass Co-Founder and CEO David Rogier. Additionally, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Conductive Ventures, Battery Ventures, Canaan Partners, SVB Capital, and Stanford University have all invested.
Former AC Milan and Japan midfielder, Keisuke Honda, said “I am excited that Dreamers Fund, the fund that I co-launched with Will Smith, is now investing in Gen.G. Esports is not yet big in Japan, but we are seeing tremendous growth there and globally, which is very positive. We decided to invest in Gen. G because of their incredible team and grand vision to become a leader in the space. We truly look forward to working with Gen.G to boost the esports industry around the world.” Read More… https://esportsinsider.com/2019/04/will-smith-invests-as-gen-g-announce-46m-funding-round/
June 12, 2019
Immortals officially acquires Infinite Esports & Entertainment. Ari Segal, CEO of Immortals Gaming Club discussed the acquisition in a release: “Today, we announced a transformative transaction for our organization and a landmark transaction for our industry. Across our family of brands, OpTic; MIBR; LA Valiant; and Immortals, IGC’s total audience size is nearly three times larger than our nearest competitors.
“At the same time, our multi-brand strategy enables us to tailor content, messaging, voice, and experience for distinct communities and audience segments, driving deeper engagement and affinity. Armed with these brands, the best fans in esports, the legacy and tradition of great teams and players, and a newly reinforced and strong balance sheet, IGC is positioned to be a market leader and model organization.”
The transaction has already been approved by Riot Games and Activision Blizzard. OpTic Gaming will re brand to Immortals in the LCS from 2020. The company will also manage Houston Outlaws, Infinite’s Overwatch League franchise, until a new owner is found. Read More… https://esportsinsider.com/2019/06/immortals-acquires-optic-gaming/
Auto Industry
January 8, 2019,
Panda TV has strong business ties with Invictus Gaming—both companies were founded by Chinese businessman Wang Sicong, the only son of billionaire Wang Jianlin, who is the chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group (revenue was $35.29B USD in 2017, reported by WSJ). Sicong also founded esports production company Banana Culture. The company ran last year’s PUBG Global Invitational in Berlin, and partnered with the Xi’an government for esports relevant operations in the city in December.
August 11, 2019,
Honda’s new tactic for attracting first-time car buyers: esports.
Honda Motor Co. is pumping more marketing dollars into competitive video gaming to protect its status as the dominant car maker among young, first-time buyers.
The Japanese auto giant is becoming the official automaker of Riot Games Inc.’s League of Legends Championship Series, one of North America’s biggest esports leagues. The news comes eight months after Honda signed a partnership with Team Liquid, a three-time league champion.
Honda’s goal is to meet young consumers on their own terms. The global esports audience is more than 450 million people, according to analysis firm Newzoo, and North America represents the largest market. That group is largely young, tech-savvy consumers who don’t interact with marketing in the same way as their older peers. Read More.. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2019,/08/12/honda-becomes-official-automaker-league-legends-championship/39936683/
April 21, 2019,
Ford dives into esports with Fordzilla racing team. Recruitment for the team is already underway.
The team will focus on “highest level” of racing on the virtual stage and recruitment began this week at Gamescom. The automaker plans to recruit national teams for France, Germany, the UK and Spain. From there, Ford will create a European team with a star player from each country.
While Fordzilla will likely tackle multiple racing games in the future, the team will begin with a presence in “Forza Motorsport 7,” the latest driving simulator game for the Xbox One console. Ford has a good relationship with Turn 10, the studio behind the Forza Motorsport franchise. It worked with Turn 10 to make the second-generation Ford GT the “Forza Motorsport 6” cover car back in 2015.
Like other companies that are increasingly turning to the virtual sport, Ford eyes a piece of the growing revenue stream esports brings in. According to data Ford cited, esports is expected to generate over $1 billion in revenue this year — a 26.7% jump over 2018. The automaker also said the synergies between gaming and future mobility solutions intrigues the company.
Ford isn’t alone in esports involvement. Earlier this month, Honda expanded its involvement to become the official partner of the Riot Games League of Legends Championship Series. The Japanese automaker also serves as the official partner of Team Liquid in the series. Read More… https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-esports-fordzilla/
March 9, 2019
North American esports organization Cloud9 has signed BMW as its automotive sponsor.
This is the first instance of the automobile company sponsoring a team, only previously sponsoring the EU LCS Summer Finals in 2017.
In a follow-up video to the announcement, Jack Etienne, Founder and CEO of Cloud9 revealed that the organization filmed a series of advertisements with BMW. Personalities and professional players such as Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam, Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi, and Becca “Aspen” Rukavina.
Other details of the sponsorship are unknown at time of writing, though BMW’s logo is present on Cloud9’s social media channels. Read More…
https://esportsinsider.com/2019/03/cloud9-announces-bmw-as-automotive-sponsor/
December 24, 2019
Tesla is Equipping its Cars with Video Games, Anime. Elon Musk seems to have blessed China with a new techy gift just in time for the holidays.
At the 2019 Tencent Digital Creative Festival on Friday, Tesla announced a partnership with Tencent to bring mobile games and feature films to their cars’ screens. Users can connect their WeChat or QQ accounts with their Tesla screens to play major titles from China’s mobile-dominated gaming market. The new update, which is set to be released early next year, marks the first time that Tesla has ventured into mobile gaming capabilities. Tesla is rolling out similar partnerships with Youku and Bilibili, two major hubs for independent content creators, TV, movies, and anime.
Snacks & Drinks
December 17, 2019,
In becoming the presenting sponsor of the Madden NFL 20 Club Championship, Snickers is ramping its promotional activity with the esports tournament a year after first partnering with the series of live events. The candy brand aims to reach the esports audience that largely consist of Generation Zers, 74% of whom say they often snack between meals, per a study by the Institute of Food Technologies.
Esports viewership is set to surge more than 50% by 2023 to reach 46.2 million viewers, marketer forecast in March. The researcher also predicted that the number of U.S. consumers who would watch an esports event at least once a month would grow 18% to 30.3 million this year from 2018. Brands looking to reach these millions of fans are forecast to boost sponsorship spending by 34% to $457 million this year, games researcher Newzoo predicted. Read More…
https://www.marketingdive.com/news/snickers-kicks-off-eas-madden-nfl-esports-tournament/569212/
December 13, 2019,
Wingstop Makes Inroads into the Esports Market.
The growing market for esports has led many brands to wonder how they can capitalize on its popularity.
Wingstop made the decision to partner with streaming platform Twitch for a limited time to offer food orders and delivery without having to leave the app. Wingstop’s chief marketing officer, Christina Clarke, said the partnership has already surpassed the benchmarks set for it.
Daniel Litwin and Tyler Kern discuss why this has been so successful and how others could follow suit in this excerpt from Business Casual.
Tune in to MarketScale Radio LIVE every Wednesday and Friday morning at 9 a.m. CT for Business Casual with Tyler Kern and Daniel Litwin. From interest rates to esports – we’ll be talking all things B2B. Read More…
https://marketscale.com/industries/food-and-beverage/wingstop-makes-inroads-into-the-esports-market/
September 10, 2019,
Collegiate event organizer Tespa has unveiled Coca-Cola as its exclusive beverage partner. The partnership will see Tespa offer a special collection of branded items for its clubs and players.
Benefits for members include regular Coca-Coca Loot Drops that contain exclusive merchandise. During finals season, clubs will receive a care package with Ccca-Cola products and merchandise to share with members.
Coca-Cola will also be supporting Tespa’s workshops, industry ask-me-anything sessions, and meetup events. It will also support recruitment events which will offer networking opportunities for students.
Tespa is a network that supports collegiate esports. It has over 270 clubs (which it refers to as ‘Chapters’) across North America with 120,000 members and alumni, and is partnered with the likes of ESPN, ASUS ROG, and Twitch.
Sign-ups for the Fall season leagues are open with Overwatch, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and StarCraft II all have their own dedicated ladder system and seasonal rewards. Read More…
https://esportsinsider.com/2019,/09/tespa-coca-cola-partnership/
February 8, 2019,
The Overwatch League announced Friday that it has added Coca-Cola as its official beverage partner ahead of the 2019, season. Coca-Cola joins returning sponsorship partners Toyota, T-Mobile, HP and Intel as some of the major brands that the league has signed. Coca-Cola’s sponsorship will extend to the “entire competitive Overwatch esports ecosystem,” including Overwatch Contenders, Open Division, the North American Tespa competitions, the Overwatch World Cup and BlizzCon. While terms haven’t been disclosed, the multiyear deal will give the beverage powerhouse exclusivity with all 20 teams in the league and events across the collegiate and amateur levels as well.
Brandon Snow, chief revenue officer of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, said in a statement that the partnership is “the perfect pairing between two businesses that share common values.” Read More…
Fashion Clothing
December 3, 2019,
Esports and fashion? A match made in marketing heaven.
When luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton announced in September it would be partnering with Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship to design in-game outfits and a trophy carrying case, many people were left scratching their heads. On the surface, high fashion and video games seem an unlikely pairing. But as esports continues to shift from subculture to mainstream, I predict this is only the beginning of fashion-focused sponsorship deals in the esports world.
As marketers better understand the esports audience and their lifestyle, more brand collaborations not directly tied to the playing or production of esports are sure to follow suit. In fact, The Esports Observer reported that in the first quarter of 2019, there were 76 non-endemic sponsorship deals in esports (an increase of 145% from the previous quarter), including fashion brands like Champion, Puma, and New Era. Read More…
https://venturebeat.com/2019,/12/03/esports-and-fashion-a-match-made-in-marketing-heaven/
December 9, 2019,
Louis Vuitton’s New Capsule with League of Legends Brings French High Fashion to Online Gaming—and Vice Versa.
In late October, Nicolas Ghesquière posted an Instagram image of Qiyana, a star of the multiplayer online battle-arena game League of Legends, in a limited-edition Louis Vuitton “prestige skin.” The Vuitton artistic director of women’s collections isn’t one of the eight million people who simultaneously play the game each day—launched in 2009, it’s one of the world’s most popular esports—or one of the nearly 100 million unique viewers who watched last year’s world championship. But augmented reality—along with an abiding love of sci-fi and time travel—is absolutely a personal obsession.
“It’s fascinating—the frontier where fantasy begins and reality ends,” says the designer. “Where it’s especially interesting for us is how a character that was built in the game becomes an influence on the real world, and how people will want to dress in her looks.” To facilitate that, Ghesquière has created virtual outfits for Qiyana and her fellow League of Legends champion Senna—“skins,” in gamer parlance—that players can earn in-game (or buy, if their battle skills aren’t up to snuff). For the real world, he’s combined the LV and LoL logos and produced a capsule collection of leather goods and street-smart, sporty riffs on the in-game clothes, in color-blocked tech jersey and chrome leather, that hits stores this month. Read More…https://www.vogue.com/article/louis-vuittons-new-capsule-with-league-of-legends
December 8, 2019,
Although it’s unknown how the socks will improving gaming abilities, it would appear to have some functionality when playing AR and VR titles. Plus, it’s almost certainly more comfortable to wear socks alone than sneakers, and many gamers prefer to not wear sneakers inside. It sports an engineered knitted upper for “comfort and breathability,” as well as split bottoms for flexibility and TPU skin for additional support. PUMA’s eSports sock follows in the footsteps of other footwear poised to improve eSports performance, like K-Swiss’ convertible “MIBR ONE-TAP” shoe. Read More …
https://hypebeast.com/2019,/12/puma-active-gaming-footwear-sock-esports-footwear-video
Earlier This Year Puma … January 14, 2019,
German sportswear giant Puma has announced its first esports partnership, after tying up an apparel deal with Cloud9. Puma will become an official partner of the competitive gaming organization’s League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) team and will have its logo adorn the chest of the team’s jersey. The tie-up also designates Puma as the official game day pants and shoes provider of Cloud9. The deal also includes uniforms for team management, meaning Puma will be providing women’s apparel.“This deal gives us ability to be a part of more things our kids love, and that’s how our brand moves the culture forward,” said Matt Shaw, head of digital marketing for Puma, speaking to the Esports Observer. “Cloud9 is really uniquely posed to help us do that.”
Read More…
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/puma-esports-cloud9-apparel-deal
December 18, 2019
Having first announced their landmark partnership in August 2019, Adidas and Ninja have come together to launch their inaugural collaborative product– the ‘Time In’ Nite Jogger. Recognized as the first of its kind, the partnership serves as a statement of intent from both parties, uniting two icons from the worlds of sportswear and gaming in order to highlight the latter’s impact on culture today. The Adidas and Ninja collaborative endeavor is an industry-leading co-creation project, elevating the traditional notions of collaboration.
Firmly acknowledged as a global titan both within his industry and in the wider pop-culture landscape, Ninja has changed the perception of gaming through unending dedication and a tireless work ethic. Speaking on the collaboration, Ninja explains his excitement, “I’m beyond thrilled and humbled to finally show the world what I’ve been working on with Adidas. The ‘Time In’ Nite Jogger represents the culmination of countless hours dedicated to my craft paying off.”
Time In’ is a platform built by Adidas and Ninja to celebrate the hours spent by creators around the world honing and developing their skills. Standing proud as the uniting narrative that ties creators together under the Adidas brand, the platform is about investing in your dream and champions the notion that the work it takes to be ready for your moment happens long before that moment appears. Outlining the significance of ‘Time In’, Ninja highlights his background, “If a kid from Chicago who just loves playing video games can collaborate with one of the sporting world’s most iconic brands to launch a shoe together, anything is truly possible. It’s through this philosophy that I hope I can help inspire the next generation of creators to realize their dreams– if you’re willing to put the TIME IN you can achieve anything.” Read More..
Technology and Hardware Fun
January 3, 2019,
2019,: New & Emerging Technologies in Gaming
The biggest game-changer in the way we consume anything these days has to be the technology considering it has a role to play in all the facets of our lives. From Hospitality to entertainment, it has had a wide reach. Particularly, the Gaming industry is at an advanced stage where the most casual of gamers have adapted to it making it one of the most consumed mass technologies. It has changed the way we create and consume games with the leading gaming markets USA, China & Japan being at the forefront of it.
According to Statista, at the beginning of 2018, there were 2.1 billion Mobile gamers in the world and 56 per cent of this gaming population played 10 or more sessions a week. The number is only likely to rise by another half a billion in the next 3 years. To fulfill this demand, huge investments in newer technologies is being done. Read More….
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/325599
Jan 10, 2019,
New Zealand-based esports broadcaster Let’s Play Live (LPL) announced that it has acquired Australian competitive online gaming company CyberGamer. The acquisition was completed in December, but was formally announced this week. Financial terms were not disclosed.
In a press statement, LPL said that the acquisition aims to deliver an improved path for CyberGamer competitors to move from grassroots to professional and televised gaming opportunities.
“All users will have ability to compete in amateur and semi-professional settings, with the opportunity to advance to premier and professional leagues – much like traditional sports,” the company said in the official statement.
“We, along with the CyberGamer team, will ensure that their commitment to grassroots esports advancement in ANZ is carried through beyond the acquisition into the future.” Read More…
https://esportsobserver.com/lpl-acquires-cybergamer/
January 23, 2019,
Hi-Rez Studios has signed a two-year streaming agreement with Microsoft that will see both the SMITE Pro League and SMITE Console Series streamed exclusively on its Mixer service.
While the developer’s Paladins Pro League airs exclusively on Facebook, all the major competitions from its most recent annual Hi-Rez Expo were broadcast on multiple platforms. The official Hi-Rez Studios Twitch channel amassed 1.6 million total hours watched during the event, with SMITE’s viewership rising to numbers not even approached since last year’s World Championships—according to data from TEO Audience Insights. Read More…
https://esportsobserver.com/hi-rez-mixer-smite-deal/
December 16, 2019,
AMD joins Blockchain Game Alliance, partners with Marketplace Creators.
A Dec. 12 press release revealed that the chip manufacturing giant is partnering with blockchain technology providers Robot Cache and ULTRA — both of whom are working to develop and operate blockchain-based online gaming marketplaces. These marketplaces aim to establish new, secure purchase options and distribution channels for game publishers and users.
The Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) is an organization committed to the adoption of blockchain technologies in gaming by promoting the creation of common standards, facilitating networking and knowledge-sharing and encouraging cooperation and the implementation of best practices.
AMD is reportedly the first major hardware manufacturer to join the Alliance, which counts Enjin token creator Fig and veteran blockchain game developer EverdreamSoft as members.
According to the press release, both marketplaces will integrate AMD’s graphics cards and processor technology for a range of purposes, including their back-end servers and blockchain infrastructure. AMD’s Ryzen processors and Radeon graphic cards have reportedly been designed to provide optimal cryptographic compute performance.
AMD claims its CPU and GPU technology will serve as a powerful motor for compute-intensive blockchain and gaming workloads. The hardware manufacturer will also provide robust security protection to help protect digital content from a range of online attack vectors. Read More… https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/content/edit/537928#
https://cointelegraph.com/news/amd-joins-blockchain-game-alliance-partners-with-marketplace-creators
May 20, 2019,
Microsoft and Sony are teaming up for the future of gaming. It’s all about Xbox and PlayStation beating Amazon and Google.
Microsoft and Sony unveiled a surprising partnership last week that will see the companies collaborate to develop future cloud solutions for game and content-streaming services. While both companies have spent more than 15 years battling it out over PlayStation and Xbox sales, Sony is now looking to Microsoft’s vast cloud experience to help power its existing and future streaming services, and Microsoft is teaming with a rival to fend off far larger gaming threats.
It was a big surprise for fans of both Xbox and PlayStation. Bloomberg reports that the agreement even shocked Sony’s own PlayStation team, which apparently wasn’t made aware of the discussions. Talks between the firms have been ongoing since last year, and Sony has started to show it’s open to working with Microsoft and others.
The announcement seems to have been prompted by one thing in particular: Google’s reveal of its Stadia cloud streaming service. Google is planning to leverage its hugely popular YouTube platform to let people click and instantly play games in their browsers or on their phones. This ease of use and Google’s web dominance have clearly unnerved both Microsoft and Sony. Read More… https://www.theverge.com/2019,/5/20/18632374/microsoft-sony-cloud-gaming-partnership-amazon-google
December 16, 2019
CORSAIR has purchased SCUF Gaming for an undisclosed amount, the company announced today. The transaction will be finalized within 30 days, according to CORSAIR.
“We are thrilled to greatly expand our portfolio of industry-leading peripherals and enter the gaming controller space to help gamers play at their best,” said Andy Paul, CEO and founder of CORSAIR. “SCUF leads the market for performance controllers and are a key ingredient to the success of countless esports professionals. SCUF will make an excellent and winning addition to the vast lineup of award-winning CORSAIR and Elgato products.” Read More…
https://dotesports.com/business/news/corsair-acquires-scuf-gaming
December 27, 2019
Esports tournament management service CHALLONGE! was recently acquired by Swiss peripherals manufacturer Logitech. CHALLONGE! was previously owned by streaming software XSplit developer SplitmediaLabs, which acquired the company in July 2016.
Users of CHALLONGE! shared an email they received from the platform on reddit, in which the company announced that it is part of Logitech now. Furthermore, the message explained, “joining Logitech and gaining access to their global footprint and resources will help us enhance our platform to further serve tournament organizers, participants, and partners.” Additionally, the platforms’ terms and conditions now refer to Logitech Europe S.A. as the site’s operator. Read More…
https://esportsobserver.com/logitech-acquires-challonge/
September 27, 2019
Amateur esports entertainment startup Super League Gaming and ggCircuit, a cloud-based software company for gaming centers, are announcing a broad expansion of their successful existing partnership.
The Santa Monica, California-based Super League will now become the primary consumer-facing brand within ggCircuit’s software platform, ggLeap, as part of a platform update that will include features designed to further attract, engage and retain players.
Based on the growth of the programs and the positive response from gaming center operators, the companies are deepening their strategic partnership with a focus on more programming, more player benefits, and an all-new monthly subscription offering called Super League Prime.
Through Super League Prime, players will receive exclusive access to select events, rewards and giveaways, and perks that can be used at their local gaming center — all designed to make gaming together in-person the best possible experience. Read More… https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/27/super-league-gaming-teams-up-with-ggcircuit-to-turn-gaming-center-customers-into-esports-fans/
To Conclude
This has been an amazing year all around and this is just the tip of the Iceberg. There were hundreds of partnerships started, and thousands of friends made all around the globe. As many brands still look from the outside wondering how to get in, many have made it and are reaping the benefits of being first. Look at your demo! Are they playing games, I’d venture to say they are! Here is to 2020! can’t wait to see what the industry has in store.