The Kairos Lowdown: Gaming and esports 11/10/2021 - 17/10/2021
Guess who’s back with more gaming and esports updates?. Read on to find out more of the biggest news stories in the gaming and esports industry, covering recent announcements from partnerships and finance to mergers and acquisitions.
Top stories:
Steam banned cryptocurrencies and NFT related games
The Valve owned platform Steam, has made the headlines this week with their new rules for publishers on their “What you shouldn’t publish on Steam” list, announced games that use of blockchain technology or anything which allows users to exchange cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible-Tokens (NFTs) will no longer be allowed on Steam.
The move has caused quite a stir across social media with many NFT-based game developers calling out Steam’s recent move. Prior to the recent rule changes, developers could create tokens as achievements for players with real-world value and it was seen by many that NFTs and blockchain games are the future of gaming.
Does steam have something installed for NFTs in the future? Or if this is a move to avoid any future controversy with NFTs as it is still in its infancy. Only time will tell. NFTs are typically designed as a record on a cryptocurrency’s blockchain that ‘represents’ pieces of digital media with a number of people sellings digital memes for millions. However, while it is still a fairly new buzzword, in recent months NFTs have also had some controversy after being linked with a number of scams.
While Valve’s recent stance is clear, it is certainly an interesting move from Steam, but what is more interesting is the reaction from other high profile publishers and platforms following the news. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney seems to have altered his stance after initially stating Fortnite maker wouldn’t allow NFT games. Following the announcement from Valve Tim Sweeney commented;
"Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech providing they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group. Though Epic's not using crypto in our games, we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance.
"As a technology, the blockchain is just a distributed transactional database with a decentralised business model that incentivises investment in hardware to expand the database's capacity. This has utility whether or not a particular use of it succeeds or fails."
FACEIT x Gucci
Esports tournament organiser, FACEIT, has announced they have partnered with luxury fashion brand Gucci to develop a grassroots esports-focused partnership. As part of the announcement the two brands have said they will work together on a range of projects relating to community growth within gaming as well as the self-development of esports players.
This signals another statement of intent for the luxury fashion brand, after Gucci previously partnered with London-based esports organisation Fnatic in 2020. This saw them collaborate on a collection of custom branded watches, and in more recent times partnering with esport organisation 100 Thieves on a range of clothing items, as well as the popular game Roblox on in-game integrations through digital designed bags within the game.
Overall, I think this is an interesting partnership. It shows Gucci understands the current climate between fashion and gaming and esports brand synergy, which I feel will create a deeper connection to audiences compared to previous partnerships between fashion and esports, with the emphasis in investment in esports on different skill levels.
It is a welcomed sight to see Gucci partner with FACEIT in a partnership which is not directly tied to fashion items or in-game integration. The luxury fashion brand seems to understand that real investment within esports which resonate with audiences best, can’t be made by simple ads and campaigns which don’t directly tie in with the fans and consumers and simply scratches the surface.
While it is still too early to tell, it is one to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks / months as this partnership certainly has scope to help esports teams, players and fans, a lot more than simply releasing a gaming inspired clothing apparel and accessories drop like we’ve seen previously.
Hollister Co-announced Bugha as new Chief Gaming Scout.
North American retail brand, Hollister, has announced they have appointed esports player and 2019 Fortnite World Cup winner Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdof as the brand's new Chief Gaming Scout.
As part of the announcement Hollister and Bugha have said they will be collaborating on a limited-edition hoody and sweatpants drop in the coming months.
As part of Bugha’s new role, Hollister will launch a new innovative where Bugha will scout aspiring content creators to join Team Hollister; a training programme which includes monthly mentorship from the former Fortnite World Champion as well as a $10,000 sponsorship deal, This is set to launch in November, while it is also announced that the brand is partnering up with live streaming platform, Twitch.
The level of investment into Bugha isn’t a surprising move by Hollister and certainly is an interesting move when you look at other fashion x gaming activations in the past.
Partnering with a former world champion as the face of the Hollister gaming brand and creating a dedicated team of content creators is certainly a wise move as it will certainly drive awareness to the brand with the launch of the new apparel range aimed at gamers. However, I would question whether this authentically connects with audiences. We will have to wait and see.
Partnerships Lowdown
CSL x Monster Energy
Esports sponsorship goliath, Monster Energy, have announced it has partnered with collegiate esports tournament organiser CSL for the NACE Starleague. As part of the announced partnership Monster Energy Canada has become the exclusive energy product and the presenting sponsor for the all Canadian events for the upcoming NACE Starleague 21-22 season.
The partnership between Monster Energy and CSL Esports looks to already showcase how the NACE Starleague has put an emphasis on collegiate esports. The direction taken to work with each individual conference league to secure partnerships could provide a smart strategy as it reduces the risk, as brands don’t need to fully commit to wide-scape partnerships straight away, and rather scale and entice other brands moving forward.
Team Liquid x Hercules Tires
Last week multinational esports organisation Team Liquid, announced their partnership with tyre manufacturer, Hercules Tires. As part of the partnership, the two brands will collaborate on the Hercules Tires invitational series which will see the two brands launch a Rocket League tournament.Commencing on 20th October 2021 it will feature 16 North American based esports teams competing in a two-part event, G2, Torrent, XSET, Charlotte Phoenix and Oxygen Esports as confirmed participants.
Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions lowdown
100 Thieves Acquires Peripherals brand Higround
North American-based esports organisation, 100 Thieves, makes the Kairos Lowdown news for a second week running with the announcement of the acquisition of gaming peripheral brand Higround. However, details regarding the finances of the acquisition have yet to be disclosed.
As part of the announcement the two companies have revealed the first custom 100 Thieves, 60 key Higround keyboard, alongside other items as part of a series of product lines set to be released. It certainly is an exciting time for 100 Thieves following their recent partnership with Lil Nas X, and while acquiring the keyboard brand might not seem like much, no doubt we will see a big marketing push from the esports organisation given the orgs connections with lifestyle brands.
Riot Games acquires Kanga
It’s been a busy few weeks for the renowned gaming publisher Riot Games and they have also announced their recent acquisition of media technology startup, Kanga. As part of the announcement Kanga will join Riot’s Global Digital Esports group, where it will focus on developing digital fandom features and experiences for user and player bases.
In what is an exciting move for Riot Game’s moving forward, it will no doubt strengthen their digital esports in-house teams with the ability to create even more fan-focused content and activations in the coming months. It is an interesting move for sure and one to keep an eye out for.
Tencent Invests $19.5m in Bloober Team
Chinese-based tech powerhouse, Tencent continues to invest in its game studio portfolio as they announce they have acquired 21.97% of Polish game studio Bloober Team for an estimated $19.5 million. As part of the deal, Tencent purchased 3.8 million shares from investment firm Rockbridge TFI through its subsidiary Seren Century Ltd.
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