Over the last couple of years, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports has become one of the hottest properties within the entire industry.

The MLBB scene has always been a mainstay in Southeast Asia, with its competitions regularly featuring in top esports viewership lists. However, global esports organisations have now started to take notice of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s passionate — and growing — audience. 

NAVI, one of the most recognisable teams within Counter-Strike 2, has become the latest name to stake its claim in MLBB, entering the ecosystem’s most popular league, MPL Indonesia.

“This is one of the best titles in the world,” stated NAVI’s COO Aleksey Kucherov when speaking with Esports Insider. “It has an awesome audience and huge viewership and fan base, especially in Southeast Asia and in Indonesia.

“NAVI is one of the biggest clubs in the world and we have many different titles in our portfolio. Of course, we can’t miss one of the best titles in the world, which Mobile Legends is, so that’s why we wanted to get in. And finally, it happened.”

Interestingly this isn’t the first time that NAVI has been in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, with the organisation previously operating a CIS roster. Despite its short tenure (less than a year), NAVI competed at Mobile Legends’ biggest international event in 2021, the M3 World Championship. 

Kucherov highlighted that this brief stint proved to be very significant, opening the Ukrainian organisation’s eyes to MLBB’s potential.  

“It was the start for us. It was the first meeting with MOONTON in general, with their approach and with the game itself,” he said. “Because we liked the approach from MOONTON and how Mobile Legends was structured, in general, we wanted to get in the best region possible this time.”

A major trend that has occurred within Mobile Legends: Bang Bang esports is Western esports organisations tapping into the league’s Southeast Asian market. 

What’s fascinating is seeing how these Western brands have entered the scene using a variety of avenues. Last year, Fnatic secured a strategic partnership with ONIC to create a rebranded MLBB roster for 2024. Meanwhile, Team Falcons went from partnering with AP.Bren to acquiring its own MPL Philippines slot outright earlier this year. 

Going into the new season of MPL Indonesia — set to commence March 7th — NAVI’s COO told Esports Insider that there were two routes the organisation could take: acquire a franchise slot from MOONTON or purchase an existing organisation in the league. NAVI chose the latter, acquiring Indonesian organisation Rebellion Esports for an undisclosed figure. 

“The region, the audience and the work approach in general, this is something new for us,” Kucherov noted. “We need some expertise in Mobile Legends, we need some expertise with working with fans in the region and some ready infrastructure and operations on site.”

What was also emphasised while speaking with NAVI’s COO was the organisation’s focus on long-term investment: “Acquisition and long-term commitment in Mobile Legends, having the NAVI brand in the region, this is our focus and that’s why we moved in this way.”

Despite NAVI’s long-term goals, Kucherov did admit that its expansion into Mobile Legends: Bang Bang — and its recent venture into Chess — was influenced by the Esports World Cup. The COO highlighted that its expansion into more EWC titles was one of NAVI’s focuses this year.

It’s important to remember that it takes two to make a deal, so what was Rebellion Esports’ reasoning for becoming part of the NAVI family? 

According to Jonathan Yuwono, Rebellion Esports’ founder and now General Manager of NAVI MLBB, the prospect of joining NAVI was too good to turn down. Founded in 2019, the Indonesian organisation entered the MLBB scene in 2021 after taking over the franchise slot of Aerowolf Pro Team.

“We went from a local organisation playing in one title to becoming part of a global organisation that plays all the largest game titles in the world,” recalled Yuwono.

“I thought this was just an opportunity that we really couldn’t pass up. From previous shareholders to MOONTON, to staff to players, this was just an opportunity that we felt if we didn’t take now, we just didn’t know when it would ever come again.”

Whilst MPL Indonesia will always be catered towards its regional audience — which makes sense given the fact that Season 14 garnered 4m viewers — there is now a massive international rivalry in the league. 

After acquiring Southeast Asian esports organisation STUN.GG in 2024, Team Liquid has competed in MPL Indonesia and MPL Philippines for the past two seasons. When asked about the opportunity to clash with Team Liquid on a new stage, Kucherov explained that he was excited to see a familiar face in the league.

“When we saw the announcement that Team Liquid joined Indonesia, we were very happy,” he said. “We congratulated them and it gave us another confirmation that we are moving in the right way.”

In Team Liquid’s first year in MLBB, the organisation’s Philippines team qualified for the Mid Season Cup 2024. Meanwhile, its Indonesian roster valiantly finished second at last year’s M6 World Championship. Having another established Western name alongside NAVI in the scene also provides easy-to-deliver storylines that can entice fans of both organisations to watch their teams compete.   

Regarding NAVI’s own ambitions, both Yunwono and Kucherov highlighted domestic success, aiming for a potential top-two finish in MPL Indonesia. However, both emphasised that this is a long-term project and that patience is needed. 

“I think we need to have some patience as well,” explained NAVI MLBB’s General Manager.

“We do want to always get the best players, but, season to season, we don’t know whether that player is available for sale. We’re also committed to developing young talent. So there are many ways, many routes, to have a championship roster.”

Kucherov added: “This is not our first year in esports, we know how it’s structured. We know that, as Jonathan said, we need patience. We know that results will come with all the efforts we can put in, but they can not come immediately.”

MPL Indonesia Season 15 is set to be one of MLBB’s most anticipated leagues ever. 

Team Liquid ID is fresh from an impressive run at M6, NAVI is entering the fold and popular organisation RRQ Hoshi is looking to make a statement. All eyes should be on MLBB in 2025, no matter if fans are from Southeast Asia or not. 

The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Year 4 Championship is coming up in Sapporo, Japan at the Daiwa House PREMIST DOME from January 29th to February 2nd 2025.

40 of the best Apex Legends teams in the world will battle it out to become ALGS Year 4 Champion and win a lion’s share of its $2m (~£1.62m) prize pool. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Apex Legends’ biggest event of the year.

One of the most significant announcements for the ALGS Year 4 Championship is that, for the first time since February 2022, there will be a new map — E-District — added to the ALGS map rotation. 

This is going to provide a major shakeup competitively as variables in play (drop points, points of interest and boxes) will multiply. The tournament is also ALGS’ LAN debut in Japan, a country where Apex Legends has become incredibly popular over the past two years. 

All of ALGS’ regions of play are represented at the Year 4 Championship. Teams from NA, EMEA, APAC North, APAC South, South Asia, and China earned their spots through the regular season and its two Playoffs.

Competing with a live audience, gaining time under the spotlight and having the opportunity to create fan events, giveaways and commercial activations, are just some of the perks that the ALGS grants to the teams that have qualified for the event. 

The practice was implemented at last year’s Championship in Birmingham and garnered a lot of praise from the teams. So this year it will be back, most likely in a larger fashion. 

This makes the ALGS Championship not only the pinnacle of competitive Apex but also the most important commercially. Organisations have an opportunity to monetise and interact with a live audience that’s deeply passionate about the game in a large-scale setting.

The ALGS Year 4 Championship consists of a Group Stage and Double-Elimination bracket format. 

In the Group Stage, each group plays a single six-match series against every other group for a total of 18 guaranteed matches per team. This means that Group A, for example, will compete in three series’ over the next two days against B, C and D.  

Day 1 – Wednesday, January 29th

Groups A & B – 9:00 am JST / 4:00 pm PT / 12:00 am GMT

Groups C & D – 1:15 pm JST / 8:15 pm PT / 4:15 am GMT

Groups B & D – 5:30 pm JST / 12:30 am PT / 8:30 am GMT

Day 2 – Thursday, January 30th

Groups A & C – 9:00 am JST / 4:00 pm PT / 12:00 am GMT

Groups B & C – 1:15 pm JST / 8:15 pm PT / 4:15 am GMT

Groups A & D – 5:30 pm JST / 12:30 am PT / 8:30 am GMT

Following the Group Stage, all teams will be assigned a starting position in the Bracket Stage’s double-elimination bracket based on each one’s Group Stage performance.

The top 20 teams will begin the Bracket Stage in the Winners Bracket, and the bottom 20 teams will start in the 1st round of the Elimination Bracket.

Each Bracket Stage round will consist of a single eight-match series. After the Winners’ Bracket series, the top 10 teams will advance to the Match Point Finals, and the bottom 10 teams will advance to the Elimination Bracket — Round 2. 

After each Elimination Bracket series, the bottom 10 teams will be eliminated from the tournament. Following the Elimination Bracket — Round 2 series, the top 10 teams will advance to the Match Point Finals.

At the end of the Bracket Stage, 20 teams will remain to compete in the Match Point Finals.

The Finals will consist of a single Match Point format series. This format, trademarked by Electronic Arts and Respawn, is what makes the ALGS Championship stand out amongst the other battle royale tournaments. 

Normally, when there’s a big final in a battle royale, the last moments are usually underwhelming. That’s because, sometimes, there isn’t a clear winner at the end of the last game because the officials have to count points, kills and other metrics.

EA and Respawn have come up with a way to ramp up the tension until the last second and have a clear winner emerge at the end. The Match Point format has a threshold of 50 points that a team (through wins and placements) has to reach to qualify for the win. Once the target has been reached, the only way for said team to bring home the trophy is to win a game by being the last men standing. 

No matter how many points beyond 50 a team has, they need to win a game to be crowned champions.

At the 2023 ALGS Championship finals in Birmingham, for example, OpTic Gaming was ahead of everyone else in the final but could not secure a win in time to bring home the title. Instead, TSM, a couple of matches after reaching 50 points, secured a win and with it the trophy. 

This means that there’s no fixed number of matches in the finals which becomes a test not only of skill but also endurance.

Going into the first days of the Championship, the teams that will be at the centre of attention will be Shopify Rebellion, Fnatic and Gaming Gladiators. These are the three organisations that left a mark on 2024’s competitive season with their performance. 

They are first, second and third on the Playoff Points chart, respectively, having put in solid performances across both Splits.

Closely following, and in contention for the top spots, are three more teams: Alliance, Team Falcons and Crazy Raccoon, the last of which has 500 Points from the first Split Playoffs alone.

100 thieves and NRG have 220 and 200 points, respectively, having only participated in one Split each.

ALGS Split 2 winners Spacestation Gaming will not be present at the event with its roster disbanding shortly after lifting the trophy. However, all players will be at the ALGS Championship. Brody ‘Xynew’ Geissler and Israel ‘Koyful’ Lawrence are in Shopify Rebellion’s team and Josue ‘Phony’ Ruizis is with Guild.

The 2025 League of The Americas (LTA) is League of Legends’ new cross-conference competitive circuit that will feature teams from North America and LATAM. 

The competition was announced in 2024 and involves the merger of the LCS, CBLOL and LLA.

With many major changes occurring to League of Legends esports in the Americas for 2025, here’s a guide to the LTA and its inaugural split.

Before jumping into the first split, here are the basics of the new LTA structure. 

In total, the LTA features 16 teams which are evenly split into two conferences: North and South. The LCS forms the foundations of LTA North, while CBLOL involves the majority of teams within LTA South.

Similarly to the LEC, each annual LTA season is divided into three distinct splits. At the end of each split, the best teams qualify for an international event.  

The winner of the Split 1 qualifies for the inaugural First Stand tournament. Meanwhile, the winners of each conference in the Split 2 qualify for the Mid Season Invitational and the top three teams in the Split 3 playoffs (known as the Americas Regional Championship) qualify for the League of Legends World Championship.

Except for some touring events, all LTA games are played live in two venues. Both are known as the Riot Games Arena, however, one is in Los Angeles, California, and is dedicated to LTA North, while the other is in São Paulo, Brazil, and hosts LTA South.

The 2025 LTA season officially began on January 18th with the LTA North and South Draw Shows. 

These events provided no official matches but were utilised to determine the split’s first-round matchups. Split 1 matches kick off on January 25th and run until February 23rd.

As with most of Riot Games’ first splits of 2025, the LTA will be utilising Fearless Draft. This new pick/ban system prevents teams from playing a champion that has already been used once during their series.

The Split 1 sees both conferences compete in a separate double-elimination tournament with a full fearless format. To progress in the tournament, teams must win two best-of-three (BO3) series to advance to the playoffs or risk elimination after two losses.

Only the top four teams from each conference will progress to the LTA 2025 Split 1 Playoffs. 

LTA South will host the first-ever cross-conference competition at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo. The playoffs consist of a best-of-five (BO5) single-elimination bracket to crown the Split 1 champion and name the Americas representative for the First Stand Tournament in March.

Regular season

Playoffs:

Finals:

With the LTA consisting of various organisations from the Americas, there are a few new teams that people might not be aware of.

Overall, the CBLOL and LCS have six partnered teams each for LTA’s inaugural season. The LLA has also provided two more teams, one each for the North and South Conference.

In addition, one organisation for each conference was selected as a ‘guest team’ — Disguised (LTA North) and Isurus Estral (LTA South).  

These teams have to requalify for the LTA at the end of each season in promotion and relegation playoffs against the best teams from the regional tier-two leagues.

After selling their franchised slot back to Riot Games, 100 Thieves is also not considered a partnered team but will still compete in the tournament this year as a Provisional Guest. Riot Games will deliberate on this slot’s future in the upcoming season.

Sadly, with the formation of the LTA, the CBLOL and LCS both lost competitors to reduce the size of the league and introduce the LLA and guest slots. NRG and Immortals are out of League of Legends’ tier-one scene. Meanwhile, in the South, KaBuM! Esports, LOS (formerly known as Los Grandes), Liberty and INTZ eSports were cut from the CBLOL representatives.

Similar to the League of Legends Americas structure, there were a lot of roster changes in the LTA, across both conferences. 

Only four teams out of 16 have kept the same roster from 2024: FlyQuest, Team Liquid, Red Canids Kalunga and PaiN Gaming.

Perhaps the biggest roster moves from LTA North came from Cloud9 with Berseker and Jojopyun departing the organisation for LCK’s ⁠DN Freecs and LEC’s Movistar KOI, respectively. As a result, the organisation brought back a familiar face in former player Zven, whilst also recruiting HLE Challengers Mid Laner Loki. 

Following a split off, Fudge is back in the Top Lane, this time under Shopify Rebellion. The Australian is also joined by Contractz and Palafox in the Jungle and Mid Lane, respectively. 

Meanwhile, in the LTA South, former LEC player Trymbi has taken a trip overseas to join Vivo Keyd Stars. Ex-FlyQuest support Winsome will also be plying his trade in Brazil, joining LOUD for the 2025 season alongside Wiz, who departed FUIRA Esports at the end of 2024. 

Cloud9

Top Lane: Park ‘Thanatos’ Seung-gyu

Jungle: Robert ‘Blaber’ Huang

Mid Lane: Lee ‘Loki’ Sang-min

Bot Lane: Jesper ‘Zven’ Svenningsen

Support: Philippe ‘VULCAN’ Laflamme

Dignitas

Top Lane: Jett ‘Srtty’ Joye

Jungle: Jade ‘Sheiden’ Libut

Mid Lane: Kim ‘Keine’ Joon-cheol

Bot Lane: Frank ‘Tomo’ Lam

Support: Jonah ‘Isles’ Rosario

Team Liquid

Top Lane: Jeong ‘Impact’ Eong-young

Jungle: Um ‘UmTi’ Sung-hyeon

Mid Lane: Eain ‘APA’ Stearns

Bot Lane: Sean ‘Yeon’ Sung

Support: Jo ‘CoreJJ’ Yong-in

Shopify Rebellion

Top Lane: Ibrahim ‘Fudge’ Allami

Jungle: Juan Arturo ‘Contractz’ Garcia

Mid Lane: Cristian ‘Palafox’ Palafox

Bot Lane: Ju ‘Bvoy’ Yeong-hoon

Support: Denilson ‘Ceos’ Oliveira Gonçalves

FlyQuest

Top Lane:  Gabriël ‘Bwipo’ Rau

Jungle: Kacper ‘Inspired’ Słoma

Mid Lane: Song ‘Quad’ Soo-hyung

Bot Lane: Fahad ‘Massu’ Abdulmalek

Support: Alan ‘Busio’ Cwalina

100 Thieves

Top Lane: Rayan ‘Sniper’ Shoura

Jungle: Kim ‘River’ Dong-woo

Mid Lane: Lim ‘Quid’ Hyeon-seung

Bot Lane: Ian Victor ‘FBI’ Huang

Support: Bill ‘Eyla’ Nguyen

LYON

Top Lane: Eric ‘Licorice’ Ritchie

Jungle: Sebastián ‘Oddie’ Alonso Niño Zavaleta

Mid Lane: Kang ‘Saint’ Sung-in

Bot Lane: Park ‘Hena’ Jeung-hwan

Support: Pedro Luis ‘Lyonz’ Peralta

Disguised

Top Lane: Jo ‘Castle’ Hyeon Seong

Jungle: Lawrence ‘eXyu’ Xu

Mid Lane: Felix ‘Abbedagge’ Brown

Bot Lane: Jeremiah ‘ScaryJarry’ Leathe

Support: Choi ‘Huhi’ Jaehyun

Fluxo

Top Lane: TBD

Jungle: Diogo ‘Shini’ Moreira

Mid Lane:  Gabriel ‘Fuuu’ Furuuti

Bot Lane: Vinicius ‘Marvin’ Marvin

Support: Guilherme ‘Guigs’ Soares

FURIA

Top Lane: Guilherme ‘Guigo’ Ruiz

Jungle: Pedro ‘Tatu’ Seixas

Mid Lane: Arthur ‘Tutsz’ Machado

Bot Lane: Andrey ‘Ayu’ Saraiva

Support: Gabriel ‘Jojo’ Dzelme

Vivo Keyd Stars

Top Lane: Felipe ‘Boal’ Boal

Jungle: Pedro ‘Disamis’ Gonçalves

Mid Lane: Ronald ‘Kisee’ Vo

Bot Lane: Matheus ‘Morttheus’ Motta

Support: Adrian ‘Trymbi’ Trybus

LOUD

Top Lane: Leonardo ‘Robo’ Souza

Jungle: Na ‘Wiz’ Yoo-joon

Mid Lane: Thiago ‘Tinowns’ Sartori

Bot Lane: Moon ‘Route’ Geom-su

Support: Kim ‘Winsome’ Dong-keon

paiN Gaming

Top Lane: Choi ‘Wizer’ Ui-seok

Jungle: Marcos ‘Cariok’ Oliveira

Mid Lane: Matheus ‘dyNquedo’ Rossini

Bot Lane: Alexandre ‘TitaN’ Lima

Support: Choi ‘Kuri’ Won-yeong

Red Canids

Top Lane: Francisco ‘fNb’ Miranda

Jungle: Gabriel ‘Aegis’ Lemos 

Mid Lane: Daniel ‘Grevthar’ Xavier

Bot Lane: Diego ‘Brance’ Amaral

Support: José Eduardo ‘Frosty’ Leal

Leviatán

Top Lane:  Cristóbal ‘Zothve’ Arróspide

Jungle: Artur ‘Scary’ Queiroz

Mid Lane: Cristian Sebastián ‘Cody’ Quispe Yampara

Bot Lane: Lorenzo ‘Ceo’ Tévez

Support: Fábio ‘ProDelta’ Marques

Isurus

Top Lane: Noh ‘Burdol’ Tae-yoon

Jungle: Brandon ‘Josedeodo’ Villegas

Mid Lane: Jeong ‘Mireu’ Jo-bin

Bot Lane: Brian ‘Snaker’ Distefano

Support: Gabriel ‘Ackerman’ Aparicio

No one in the gaming or esports industry would tell you that 2024 wasn’t a challenging year. A public mantra in the industry was ‘Survive ‘Til 25.’ 

The financial correction created by ‘esports winter‘ carved away at margins and cut through threads companies were holding on to.

Similar to 2023, some organisations were unable to continue operations, whilst others developed new business strategies, such as combining existing entities into hopefully more sustainable ventures.  

However, despite a myriad of difficulties, there are signs that the esports industry may be finally finding itself from under the weight of 2023’s esports winter forecast — and the first glimpses of profitability.

If there was any silver lining throughout the ‘esports winter’, it is that player salaries and economic expectations are now more closely aligned with real revenues, rather than being paid and based on raised capital. 

Despite the industry’s ‘cold weather’, Team Liquid Co-CEO Steve Arhancet told Esports Insider the organisation never once considered changing its focus on competitive gaming.  

This new landscape helped Team Liquid reduce athletic operating expenses while expanding into more games and increasing its competitive rosters to over 15 titles going into 2025.

The organisation’s major milestones, such as winning Dota 2’s The International 2024, taking silver at the inaugural Esports World Cup, clinching League of Legends’ LCS Spring Split and reaching the M6 finals with its Mobile Legends Bang Bang roster contributed to growth in fandom and its budget sheets in 2024.

Team Liquid starts the year celebrating not only its 25th anniversary as an esports organisation but on the wings of its first year declaring EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) profitability since the organisation’s start in 2000.

Team Liquid’s Co-CEO quietly revealed the org’s EBITDA profitability first in Esports Insider’s 2024 year-end reflection piece. In a follow-up interview, Arhancet said that 2024 was “one of the best performing years athletically and financially for Team Liquid.”

Arhancet noted that this was also achieved by holding on to the organisation’s belief in ROI through competitive endeavours, rather than pivoting to other business models.

“Our 2025 plans are truly aligned with our main quest: to be a leader in esports, a global organisation with multi-generational fandom,” Arhancet said. “We’ve been strategic and thoughtful about the Team Liquid brand, maintaining our premium in the market as reflected with the high quality of our partners, like Coinbase, Honda, Alienware, SAP and many others.”

In 2023, Finnish esports organisation ENCE revealed to Esports Insider that its 2022 financial year reported a net profit of almost €1 million. However, recently, the company released its Overwatch and women’s Counter-Strike rosters and its 2024 revenue and profit are expected to decrease, according to Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

In a recent interview with Digiday, 100 Thieves and its brand partners detailed the organisation’s refocus on esports, yielding an alleged 75% partnership re-signing rate in 2024. 100 Thieves attributed leadership and sponsorship approach changes to the company’s improved business performance in 2024.

The industry has felt a cooling off of interest from brands for esports-related activations and partnerships. However, the Digiday article suggests an upward trend in marketers’ interest in esports. 100 Thieves as an operation significantly reduced its own esports footprint, however, its partnerships and brand activation campaigns have flourished. 

In 2024 alone, Esports Insider published over 635 stories that fell within its Partnerships & Sponsorships category. 2025 could bring back brand confidence in competitive gaming, if these success stories are indicators of things to come.

Outside of explicit partnerships within competitive gaming, brands have also continued to invest heavily in gaming experiences, especially on UGC platforms like Fortnite and Roblox — either less vocally as before or by taking more operations in-house.

Spirits brand Chivas Brothers brought in James Kent, formerly of EFG, as Global Senior Brand Manager – Ballantine’s Gaming & Esports.

“I’m lucky to have joined a brand that has already seen the opportunity within the gaming/esports space and will continue to invest into it,” Kent told Esports Insider over email.

Ballantine’s is no stranger to gaming and esports. Its previous explorations involved Gearbox Entertainment’s Borderlands 3 IP as well as partnerships with BLAST for the BLAST.tv 2023 Paris Major and with Tundra Esports ahead of 2023’s The International. Kent explained that in his new role, he’ll be applying learning from past activities to shape a modern strategy to reach core audiences in key markets.

“It’s safe to say that there is continued interest and commitment to gaming and esports,” Kent said.

Esports has always faced challenges with generating revenue. Historic business models have been restrictive to the types of deals that teams and organisers can sign, all while giving fans access to all content for free.

Riot Games’ recent decision to allow betting sponsors for League of Legends and VALORANT esports divisions in Europe and the Americas might indicate that change is in the air. 

Combined with the likely crypto-friendly Trump Presidency, the social impact of prediction markets, the recent expose series on Counter-Strike Skin gambling and the rumblings of a web3 gaming revival — 2025 will be an interesting one to watch.

According to Esports Charts, last year’s top viewership rankings for international events were slightly more diverse than in 2023, highlighting the growth of more esports scenes.

“Although the final statistics for 2024 have yet to be fully confirmed, early indicators suggest that this year has been more successful than 2023 in terms of esports livestream viewership.” Esports Charts Chief Sales Officer, Sergii Rudenko, told Esports Insider late last year. 

He continued: “Notably, Worlds 2024 set a new peak concurrent viewership record (excluding Chinese platforms), marking a historic milestone in the esports industry.”

Titles like VALORANT, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 broke through to the top of the industry’s viewership this year. MLBB and LoL viewership calmed slightly from last year’s peaks. However, the titles still maintained their dominance at the top of the list. 

Overall, co-streaming has also created a positive industry trend — boosting viewership while reaching new audiences through a streamer’s ability to co-create content tailored for their viewers. However, it also brings additional challenges for studios and official broadcasters.

“Co-streaming has been a major force in esports this year, which underscores the need for innovation in the official broadcast space to keep audiences hooked,” highlighted Esports Charts CEO Artyom Odyntsov.

Added competition for engagement and attention should drive official broadcasts and studios to innovate their product and content, otherwise they risk being overtaken by the co-streamers themselves. 

This is a good rivalry to have if you’re an esports fan. The more broadcasts, the more choices viewers have to settle in and watch a stream that resonates with them the most.

However, game developers and tournament organisers mustn’t use co-streaming as an opportunity to streamline official broadcasts or, in some cases, remove them altogether.

Several Western esports organisations shifted further attention to East Asian markets in 2024. Teams like Fnatic and Team Liquid expanded into mobile esports, notably MLBB, and found success in significantly enhancing their visibility and engagement in the region.

Team Liquid’s new MLBB roster was the fifth most-viewed team in 2024 according to the data platform and the top non-LoL team on the list.

Odyntsov suggested that as more teams continue to tap into the growing mobile gaming scene, “the increase in viewership suggests that this trend is only going to gain momentum in 2025 and beyond, further blending Eastern and Western esports cultures.”

Despite it being ‘winter’, alternative events sprung up around the industry in 2024 to great success.

December 2024’s League of Their Own off-season LoL exhibition tourney was Red Bull’s most watched esports event ever, an apparent result of the brand’s off-season event strategy.

Days earlier, esports personalities Marc Robert ‘Caedrel’ Lamont and Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere launched The League Awards, an award show solely focused on celebrating the League of Legends ecosystem. The event peaked at 37,044 viewers, according to Esports Charts and from most accounts was an enjoyable experience.

The incredibly ambitious and controversial Esports World Cup garnered more (decidedly measured) mainstream coverage than any other esports event to date. If nothing else, Saudi Arabia’s investments in gaming and esports have given the esports community something to talk about.

Not to mention the country’s appointment as the official host for the Olympic Esports Games in 2025 and over the next 12 years.

Looking ahead into 2025, last year highlighted that the esports industry is an agile, scrappy and resourceful beast — not the kind to lay down and sleep through the winter. Removed from its business goals and challenges, it is a community driven by a passion for gaming, competition and camaraderie.

Esports has overcome mainstream critiques, led innovations in live online entertainment broadcasts and delivered new experiences for brands and audiences alike, sometimes on a shoestring budget.

The start-up of ecosystems has been built by hundreds of people who embody a ‘one-more-game mindset’. With any luck, 2024 will be the end of the industry’s cooldown and 2025 brings in a new dawn.

While most tech startups chase venture capital, XBorg is seemingly pursuing a different vision: building an open infrastructure to benefit the gaming industry.

Founded in 2022, XBorg has built a product that allows esports teams to easily create customised fan applications that provide gamified and immersive fan experiences. Some of the company’s partners already include the likes of Team Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team BDS.

In 2024 it was announced that XBorg had raised a total of $9m exclusively from individual investors. As a result, XBorg today has over 25,000 gamers and industry enthusiasts who now collectively own the company and guide its development.

“Traditional companies optimise for shareholder returns. We’re optimising for industry-wide impact by creating a public good for gaming,” explained Louis Regis, XBorg’s Founder and CEO.

“When your stakeholders are the users of your platform, you can focus on long-term value creation rather than quarterly results.”

As esports organisations look to develop loyal, lifetime fans, a variety of tools and marketing strategies have been utilised to bolster fan engagement. One of these methods is the development of apps that look to connect fans closer to teams through reward systems and personalised content. However, developing these apps can be a major undertaking. 

By working with XBorg, a team can launch personalised content feeds, achievement-based rewards or community challenges in days – all while maintaining their branding and user experience.

“Esports teams shouldn’t need a software development team to launch innovative fan features,” said Louis. 

“We’re simplifying the technical heavy lifting so brands can focus on what they do best – engaging with their communities.”

Powering these capabilities is XBorg’s core technical infrastructure, which consolidates fragmented gaming data into unified player profiles. The protocol aggregates achievements, gameplay statistics, social engagement and other metrics across games and platforms, creating digital identities that teams can leverage to create meaningful fan experiences.

“We provide the developer tools, APIs and templates that let teams focus on creating unique experiences rather than building infrastructure from scratch,” Louis explained.

“It’s similar to how Stripe simplified payments – we’re simplifying the technical heavy lifting for better fan experiences.”

XBorg’s community ownership model enables a different kind of long-term thinking. 

By steering away from traditional venture capital investment methods, XBorg hopes that it can focus on its mission of becoming a ‘public good’ for the gaming industry as opposed to generating quick returns.

This structure creates unique alignments, allowing developers to suggest features and build new applications on top of the protocol. Meanwhile, casual gamers can influence the direction of the products to enhance their gaming experience.

“When you’re building public infrastructure, having the actual users guide development just makes sense”, noted Louis. “Our community understands gaming’s needs firsthand because they are also esports fans.”

While XBorg’s decentralised approach is different, it also raises questions. Can a community-governed entity effectively compete with venture-backed competitors?

The company’s bet is that community alignment will prove more valuable than traditional corporate resources. In an industry exploring new business models, XBorg’s experiment in decentralised ownership looks to offer a new template for how gaming infrastructure gets built and governed.

“Our end goal is to open-source as many components of our industry as possible,” stated Louis. 

“By making our infrastructure community-owned, we ensure it serves the entire ecosystem rather than any single company’s interests.”

As the esports industry continues to mature, XBorg’s community-first approach could signal a broader shift in how gaming infrastructure evolves – one where the lines between users, developers, and owners become increasingly blurred.

Similarly to 2023, this year in esports has had its highs and lows. However, no matter the scene, a dotted line has always been signed as a myriad of esports partnerships are born. 

Layoffs, closures and questions surrounding esports’ sustainability have plagued the industry. Yet, despite these conversations, companies have expanded. Organisations are finding new ways to make revenue and non-endemic brands are still teaming up with esports teams to bolster revenue opportunities.

2024 has seen high-profile partnerships and sponsorships, with some of the biggest brands in the world getting involved in esports. From supermarkets to drinks brands and even one of the biggest sporting bodies in the world, esports has seen investment from all sectors. 

In line with this, Esports Insider has compiled some of the biggest and most notable partnerships from the last year in one article.

A partnership can be big for many reasons; maybe because it brings a mainstream brand into esports or it has a specific purpose that people can get behind. For French esports organisation Team Vitality, this partnership has both.

The organisation renewed its partnerships with four companies at the beginning of 2024, one of which was supermarket chain ALDI. The partnership was centred around Team Vitality’s League of Legends women’s roster, Rising Bees, to help grow the team’s appeal and audience outside its home country.

In October, the two brands unveiled a further collaboration focusing on toxicity towards women in gaming and specifically how to combat it whilst promoting diversity in esports. The collaboration resulted in a video titled ‘Des Failles dans La Faille‘ (Rifts in the Rift in English) which featured Rising Bees players and other figures discussing their experiences with misogyny in gaming and esports.

The company first became a partner of the organisation in 2021 and focused its efforts on the Rising Bees since its inception in 2023, but this year has increased its collaboration with Team Vitality including the co-created video.

In a year when fewer major brands were unwilling to invest in esports, Pepsi’s involvement with MAD Lions KOi was refreshing.  

In August Spanish esports organisation MAD Lions KOI, owned by Overactive Media and soon to be renamed Movistar KOI, announced a partnership with beverage brand Pepsi. 

Towards the end of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) campaign, Pepsi became the organisation’s official beverage sponsor and as such featured on MAD Lions KOI’s front jerseys for the prestigious competition. Luckily for Pepsi, MAD Lions’ achieved an incredible feat in qualifying for Worlds and as such the beverage brand was displayed at the event which later became the most-viewed esports event of all time.

Alongside the partnership with MAD Lions KOI, Pepsi also partnered with The Esports World Cup, a multi-title esports event organised by the Esports World Cup Foundation.

Global football governing body FIFA announced two major partnerships in June which reshaped the future of the FIFAe World Cup and many of its other events. 

The first announcement detailed that the FIFAe World Cup will make its return, with national teams now competing in the vehicle football game Rocket League due to a partnership between FIFA and Psyonix. Given that FIFA no longer has an official game to its name, with Electronic Arts now donning the EA FC moniker, this was the first major sign of FIFA’s esports priorities.  

The second announcement was a partnership with British game developer Sports Interactive to launch the FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager. Whilst Rocket League is an already established esport title, the expansion to the more niche Football Manager, displayed FIFAe’s willingness to expand into the unknown of football esports.

LCS is no stranger to large partnerships, but for its final season, the brand went out with a bang. This is the last major partnership for the LCS, with the competition being replaced in 2025 with the LTA.

The League Championship Series (LCS), Riot Games‘ franchised North American League of Legends competition, announced a partnership with American multinational conglomerate AT&T in February. 

The deal saw AT&T hosting a segment in the broadcast that was meant to be a ‘peak behind the curtain’ and focused on behind-the-scenes content when matches were taking place. This included clips of real-time audio from the matches. 

The company was also named the primary sponsor of the LCS Fan Fest and had its logo integrated into the broadcast and at the event, with it featuring on the headsets of players, referees and commentators.

Potentially the most controversial entry on the list, esports industry awards show Esports Awards announced a three-year partnership with Saudi Arabia-backed multi-title esports tournament Esports World Cup (EWC).

This resulted in the first of two Esports Awards ceremonies being held during EWC in August in Riyadh. The partnership garnered criticism due to Saudi Arabia’s stance on women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and censorship. Moreover, several notable industry stakeholders withdrew from the Esports Awards panel following the partnership’s announcement. 

At the time of the announcement Esports Awards CEO assured that EWC will have no control over the award nominations or the adjudication process and that Esports Awards will remain an “independently owned and operated entity.”

Multi–title esports competitions are all the rage in recent memory, whether it’s the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, FIFAe’s football-focused World Cup or esports being featured at the Asian Games.

In 2024 another brand entered the conversation as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) partnered with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia to launch the inaugural Olympic Esports Games 2025. 

This is the biggest attempt from the IOC to create a multi-title esports competition, complete with its own esports commission. As part of this deal, the 2025 games will be hosted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The specifics of the partnership are just as large, with the collaboration between the IOC and the Saudi NOC announced for the next 12 years.

The partnership is driven by Saudi Arabia’s social and economic transformation under Vision 2030.

Movember is an annual international event that aims to raise awareness and funding for men’s mental and physical health issues. It has a long-standing connection in esports with various organisations running campaigns and raising money for the charity involved. 

This year tournament organiser BLAST and German esports organisation Berlin International Gaming (BIG) were among a list of companies that launched notable campaigns. 

BIG launched its campaign alongside L’Oréal Men Expert and Movember called #GROWBIG. The collaboration was aimed at a younger male audience and focused on mental health as well as prostate cancer and testicular cancer awareness and prevention.

BLAST partnered with the men’s health charity Movember and made the charity the official mental health partner of BLAST Premier. This deal included activations focused on men’s mental health at the BLAST Premier World Final 2024.

Anime and esports have created an almost synonymous relationship of the year. So it’s no surprise to see that in June, Brazilian esports organisation FURIA announced a partnership with American streaming service Crunchyroll centred around the anime series My Hero Academia.

The two brands worked together to create a merchandise line inspired by FURIA and the My Hero Academia which launched later in the year. The collaboration was presented by Red Bull Ladeira Abaixo, the Brazilian version of the Red Bull Soapbox race, where FURIA fielded a car with My Hero Academia branding.

Apparel collections have been all the rage this year as FURIA also partnered with Champion later in the year, whilst other esports brands, such as 100 Thieves, G2 Esports and OpTic have done similar deals to create clothing lines and exclusive apparel packages. 

As esports continues to expand, it’s important to develop a workforce of well-prepared youth who are passionate about gaming and eager to build the industry.

NASEF, the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations, is a not-for-profit NGO (non-governmental organisation) that facilitates growth in scholastic esports. Over its seven-year history, NASEF has earned the respect of educators, esports federations, corporations and media organisations.

These stakeholders turn to NASEF for guidance in navigating the scholastic esports landscape, structuring programmes that drive youth development, workforce readiness and industry growth.

Esports provides educators with an engaging platform to gamify learning through immersive experiential student engagement. Ultimately, this leads to fostering teamwork, leadership and digital literacy, as well as career-specific skills. NASEF builds and maintains a global community where educators share best practices and curricula, through both the Scholastic Fellow program and its network of affiliates around the world.

NASEF partners with thousands of organisations, and currently has more than 100 designated global affiliates spanning all the continents from members across the United States, to NASEF Japan and NASEF China to NASEF Europe in collaboration with the Adriatic Esports Federations led by Montenegro. NASEF also has affiliates on the African continent with  Ruckus Media (South Africa), Zimbabwe, Kenya Ghana and Gambia, to name a few, all bolstering the connection of Play and Learning through scholastic esports.

Notably, NASEF aims to simplify the integration of esports into curricula and afterschool programmes by offering free resources, including frameworks and toolkits evaluated and assessed by third parties such as the University of California, AISTS and City of Busan. 

For more in-depth guidance and training , educators can become NASEF-certified General Managers and Coaches through online Academy courses. School districts have also requested custom professional development to establish cohesive programmes that blend competitive play with academic growth.

Education media company Tech & Learning has collaborated with NASEF since 2020. This partnership has produced articles and professional development events that guide educators in implementing esports effectively. 

“NASEF has consistently connected us with innovative esports speakers and experts that provide tactical advice our audience can put into practice,” noted Christine Weiser, Content and Brand Director for Tech & Learning.

Whilst it’s crucial to work alongside educational institutions, it’s equally important to connect with esports organisations and federations. Creating a bridge between the esports and education sectors allows for both sides to gain a deeper understanding of how these two industries can benefit and collaborate. NASEF has developed a methodology to help the field build capacity and create community leading to sustainable impact.     

As such, NASEF is the education partner of both the Global Esports Federation and the International Esports Federation (IESF).

IESF partners with NASEF to equip its 140+ member federations with the tools to build scholastic esports programmes. At events like the World Esports Summit, NASEF leads workshops that help member nations develop initiatives fostering learning, building capacity and providing social and economic impact.

NASEF’s approach also provides growth opportunities for technology companies. Schools and afterschool programmes are investing in upgraded computer labs to support esports and STEAM programmes. Companies that align their business strategies with scholastic esports can benefit from modernising their educational opportunities, attracting digital-savvy audiences, and contributing to future esports talent pipelines.

Gerald Solomon, NASEF’s Executive Director, has frequently discussed the growth of scholastic esports communities. At the recent Global Sources Consumer Tech Conference in Hong Kong, where over 40,000 attendees explored tech innovations, Solomon underscored how NASEF’s initiatives positively impact the industry—from workforce education to corporate ROI.

NASEF’s insights are also valued at major events like the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC). 

Jennifer Womble, FETC’s Conference Chair, highlighted NASEF’s contributions, including Esports Guides for K-12 administrators and curated content that connects educational leaders with the esports industry. 

“Working with NASEF brings exceptional value to any institution committed to advancing esports in education,” Womble noted.

“NASEF’s partnership with FETC has been invaluable; they have guided the development of Esports Guides tailored for K-12 administrators and curated content sessions and speakers, enriching conference programming and bridging the gap between educational administrators and the burgeoning esports landscape.”

Through global partnerships, practical resources and innovative approaches, NASEF is creating opportunities for students, educators and industry and corporate leaders. 

By blending learning and play, NASEF’s scholastic esports programmes foster essential skills like teamwork, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem-solving. Moreover, the organisation aims to provide experience in career areas across the esports ecosystem and beyond. According to NASEF, this comprehensive approach not only supports the growth of the esports industry, but also prepares youth to thrive in an evolving digital landscape.

On August 14th, 2013, game developer Valve introduced aesthetic weapon enhancements that would fundamentally alter their flagship game, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) forever. The game was released to the public just shy of one year earlier, but this now infamous Arms Deal Update introduced the first collection of 18 weapon skins — unique, purely cosmetic textures which can be equipped in-game — though offering no gameplay benefits.

But they did offer an intangible benefit to the ultra-competitive online tactical shooter.

Swag.

Cosmetic items in games would go on to add rich layers of cultural capital into online gaming writ-large over the next decade, but CS:GO’s unique approach would create a new phenomenon in the industry — and a new opportunity.

A host of new and engaging reward mechanics would stimulate skin’s disbursements among the player base, including a variety of ratings for each skin to maximise the collectible element, that the community would immediately both embrace and love to hate. 

Timed item drops would create a random and purely chance-based system. Players could elect to open new Standard or Esports Weapon Cases (both with unique skin collections) by purchasing the relevant keys in randomized reward experiences.

Ground-breaking at the time, a portion of the Esports Weapon Case Key sales would go to funding prize pools for community CS:GO tournaments, a practice that would go on to become commonplace in esports.

In perhaps the most consequential introduction of the Arms Deal Update, players could trade and purchase skins (or Case Keys) directly from the Steam Community Market, in a now ubiquitous micro-transaction model. This created a virtual economy around CS:GO, in which players would transact via Steam Wallet funds (topping up using real-world currency) and Valve taking 5% of each transaction.

Another game-changing opportunity was nearing the surface, though this would happen completely out-of-game.

The market would dictate the price of items from what players were willing to pay, accounting for the prescribed rarity, community desirability and personal taste — leading some to eventually become highly valuable.

Valve would regularly introduce new themed collections into the game, suites of weapon skins sharing an aesthetic across the game’s dozens of weapon types. Each new collection drop could have a window of availability, allowing players to acquire them organically for a limited amount of time, after that, they would only be available on the Steam Community Market.

Intrepid secondary markets began to immediately emerge to facilitate off-Steam transactions, sidestepping the Steam Wallet ecosystem, for cash.

Skin exchanges would eventually grow into a multi-million-dollar industry, introducing a variety of market dynamics. While the marketplace initially faced challenges such as inconsistent rating systems and unreliable transactions, the industry has since evolved with many platforms adopting transparency and fairness as core principles.

A great portion of the community became immediately and vocally tired of the misleading sites. There had to be a better way. Trust and transparency were the biggest frustrations, not unlike almost any nascent marketplace, but ideas of a better way were already forming.

By the end of the year, the active player count had doubled from the Arms Deal Update in August 2013, sitting at around 100,000. That number would more than triple by August 2014. Over the next five years, the peak concurrent player base would fluctuate until finally breaking 1 million in March 2020.

It was just before this milestone, in mid-2019, that Skin.Club was launched. Born from former pros and lifelong passionate CS-heads believing that fairness, transparency and community-driven innovation were key to unlocking a truly innovative service in the ‘skin game’.

The Skin.Club team believes that skins are a vibrant thread in the historical and cultural fabric of Counter-Strike and its esports communities. Each skin holds a story, a memory of remarkable moments, a symbol of personal achievements, or even a token of loyalty to a favourite team. 

Skins have transcended their functional purpose to become collectibles that embody creativity, identity and the shared spirit of competition.

From this ethos, the site would add a number of unique features over the years, like mirroring the experience of opening Weapon Cases by recreating their own version on the website with uniquely themed case collections. Like Skin.Club-only case collections inspired by currently popular anime like Bleach, One Piece or DanDaDan.

Each case displays every available skin within it and the historical odds of winning each item.

Because the site was born in front of the community, it aimed to stay connected to it beyond delivering a reliable product. Players would have the unique opportunity to contribute ideas, suggest improvements and directly impact how the platform evolves.

The model has proven fruitful. Today, whether through voting on new features, submitting feedback or participating in surveys — Skin.Club embodies a collaborative model ensuring every update introduced reflects the needs and desires of the community, which has grown to be the largest of all skin-devoted platforms.

Beyond pure esthetics, skins drive a unique economy in esports — enabling collaborations, sponsorships and community-driven innovations. One such feature is case battles, turning opening cases into a competitive luck-of-the-draw, winner-takes-all showdowns.

Players take turns ‘pulling’ skins from a case. Each skin and its dollar amount is revealed, with the cumulative total only being revealed at the end of a preset number of rounds. The total value of each player’s ‘drop’ is revealed and the player with the most value wins the whole pot of drawn skins.

For endeavors like Skin.Club, cosmetic items represent more than just a bridge between the technical skill and emotional art of the game’s fanbase. Skins connect players, teams and fans with their unique designs and the memories attached to them. Skins represent passion, value and demand.

Skin.Club’s mission extends far beyond case opening — it’s about supporting teams, entrepreneurs, esports enthusiasts, and the broader esports ecosystem.

By celebrating the artistry and cultural significance of skins, Skin.Club aims to elevate their value — not only as a cornerstone of the player experience but as a timeless emblem of the gaming journey. Skins are a testament to the legacy of Counter-Strike and a crucial element propelling esports into the future.

Discover the future of skin-opening experiences at Skin.Club — where fairness, innovation, and community meet.

Metafy, a platform that looks to empower top gamers and creators to earn income, has significantly expanded its offering to users in 2024.

Notably, the company launched a suite of innovative tools and offerings — Guides, Communities and Events — to transform the way gaming professionals monetize their skills, whilst also expanding its business.

Having established itself as a reputable platform for casual and aspiring players to seek one-on-one coaching from their favourite pros, Metafy is doubling down on its mission to help creators thrive. The introduction of Communities has enabled creators to build subscription-based communities with exclusive content and interactions. According to Metafy, Yu-Gi-Oh TCG personality PakTCG is now generating over $15,000 (~£11,900) in monthly recurring revenue through Metafy’s new feature.

The company noted that currently over 50 Metafy Partners are earning between $500 and $10,000 per month — four months after the Communities feature launched.

In an attempt to provide more creative freedom, Metafy offers creators an integrated ecosystem where they can utilise Sessions, Communities, Events and Guides independently or together, with no additional fees. This approach looks to maximise value for both creators and users, whilst also giving the former more opportunities to create tailored content that works for them.   

Metafy’s new Events tool allows creators to host live webinars and interactive sessions for up to 100 attendees, offering a different way to engage with fans in real time through the platform. These live sessions are automatically recorded and packaged as VODs (Video on Demand), providing creators with an opportunity to earn passive income.

 The method of monetization from Metafy’s Event feature is centred around tickets, with users buying tickets (which can vary in price) on the platform to access the webinar and live sessions. There is also additional revenue that can be gained through VOD sales of these Events.

Metafy, in particular, emphasised this feature’s potential by detailing to Esports Insider that  Pokémon pro Tord Reklev recently made $20,000 (~£15,700) from two Events. According to the platform, other partners are earning an average of $500-$800 per Event, a dramatic increase from the $30-$100 range they might make for a similar time investment in 1-on-1 coaching sessions. 

Rounding out Metafy’s offerings are Guides, which provide creators with a way to deliver detailed, monetizable resources to players of all skill levels. These Guides can be offered for free or sold for profit, catering to a wide range of audiences. From FPS experts to card game coaches, creators are leveraging Guides to diversify revenue streams and elevate their brands.

Metafy CEO, Josh Fabian, commented on its expansion: “Thanks to what we’ve been building at Metafy, creators can finally turn their gaming expertise into real businesses, make serious money, and build genuine connections with their communities. This is going to completely rewrite what it means to be a creator in gaming.”

With its new tools and commitment to creators, Metafy is looking to redefine what’s possible in the gaming creator economy. The company noted that more features will roll out in the future as it looks to further connect gaming professionals with their audience and monetize experiences.

Collegiate and amateur esports have been having a moment in North America. Despite the crumbling of the Overwatch League, the restructuring of League of Legends esports into the Americas division and many professional orgs dialling back on rosters — the amateur scene and path-to-pro initiatives have grown.

As the largest amateur esports and competitive gaming network in North America, PlayVS has been busy building a partner ecosystem to service its more than 5,000 participating schools and almost 10,000 teams competing in PlayVS leagues and tournaments every year.

The company is also the official high school esports partner of NFHS Network and the Special Olympics.

While the path-to-pro route isn’t for every amateur, organised esports can help young people develop transferable teamwork and communication skills in fast-paced critical thinking intensive environments, PlayVS CEO Jon Chapman told Esports Insider. “We’ve seen the positive impacts from esports and gaming mirror those from traditional sports in schools, especially for keeping students engaged with their community.”

According to the company’s debut PlayVS Esports Impact Survey: 57% of students said that esports makes them feel like they’re part of a community and 46% said esports has given them more friends and reported feeling more excited to go to school after joining an esports team.
The company is opening up its blackbook to further scale this positive sentiment, launching PlayVS Collective, an esports- and gaming-focused partner marketplace. Aimed at building a thriving community of trusted companies, the PlayVS Collective is a network “focused on meaningfully impacting the next generation with incredible gaming, education and community-building opportunities,” the company said.

The scale of the company’s official scholastic and casual amateur tournament operations has led to major publisher partnerships with Nintendo of America, Activision Blizzard, EA Sports and Epic Games as well as numerous other service and solution providers.

“[The PlayVS Collective’s] whole goal is to help create more participation in the amateur ecosystem because we think that will continue a healthier overall esports and competitive game ecosystem,” said Chapman. “The aim is to have more students decide to participate and enjoy the benefits of teamwork and all the other things that come from being a competitor within the space.”

Chapman took over the role of CEO just last year, and has been hard at work adapting the company’s business model, improving its offerings and bringing in new partnerships like the NFL and Premier League.

By leveraging its growing network and rebuilt trust, this newly launched PlayVS Collective aims to be a resource marketplace — offering curriculum materials from non-profits like NASEF or Stiegler EdTech, equipment and technology from Lenovo, Omnic.AI and others.

Think of it as a one-stop shop for resources and services schools would need to build and maintain an esports programme from partners PlayVS trusts, Chapman said.

He also hopes the Collective can create experiences for students to interact with industry professionals to serve as mentors or offer insights into career paths in the industry, or glean transferable skills from gaming to pursue Science, Technology, Economics and Maths (STEM)  careers.

There are plenty of hurdles to launching and maintaining a scholastic esports programme. From finding qualified coaches, to maintaining a pipeline of incoming participants (the group’s expansion into middle schools aims to help), to overcoming the long-held negative stereotypes associated with gaming. 

“Especially among groups underrepresented in gaming populations, we’ve seen that using gaming in schools as a conduit to want to study STEM subjects and think about a career as a game developer is a really positive change we hope to contribute to,“ Chapman said.

The opportunities provided by the PlayVS Collective are also a move to amplify the group’s inclusion efforts through its leadership’s belief in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement to drive positive societal outcomes.

By removing barriers to entry and opening up its network, PlayVS is aiming for a knock-on effect to encourage girls and young women towards the esports-to-STEM pipeline too. Recent studies have shown that 50% of all gamers are women-identifying, but the professional competitive landscape doesn’t resemble that ratio.

By encouraging girls at a young age that they belong and can succeed in life thanks to structured experience in gaming, this could bring positive change to the competitive pipeline historically and currently dominated by young men. 

The esports industry is built from competition, but Chapman sees more opportunities in reducing business competition and instead working together to ensure that future generations have an esports industry they can participate in. “

Students and schools are the centre of PlayVS’ universe. Finding ways internally and externally to bring our community the best tools, gaming experiences, educational and career advancement opportunities.”