The Kairos Lowdown: Gaming and esports 22/11/2021 - 28/11/2021
We are back with yet more of the biggest news stories across the gaming and esports landscape, covering recent announcements from partnerships and finance to mergers and acquisitions.
Top Stories:
Adidas X Coinbase X The Sandbox
Things are heating up within the metaverse. Following on from last week's announcement of Nike partnering with Roblox, this week Adidas have announced two new partnerships which seem to coincide with each other.
Adidas, the global sportswear manufacturer, is going all-in within the metaverse and crypto world after announcing a partnership with Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase. As well as this they also announced they have purchased a plot of land in the blockchain-based virtual gaming world within, The Sandbox.
While the details of the partnerships have yet to be disclosed, as both partnerships have been announced in the same week we can assume it indicates that Adidas plans to spend cryptocurrency within The Sandbox as it begins to scale its metaverse activity. This is where Coinbase could help to make further investments within the space.
It’s an interesting partnership but it is important to note that it is unclear if Adidas have purchased the land within The Sandbox, or whether the land has been allocated to them as part of the partnership.
While there’s no doubt these partnerships have been in the planning for a while, it certainly is an interesting time for Adidas to announce both, given their largest competitor staked their claim within the metaverse following the announcement of NIKELAND which we covered in last week's blog (Here).
It’s an exciting time for many brands to start moving into the metaverse andI can’t help but feel the timing feels like a reactive move made by Adidas, which ultimately won’t drive the awareness it had hoped. That being said, partnering with a well established brand such as Coinbase and The Sandbox within the space, certainly is a great opportunity for Adidas to raise awareness along with the potential to launch their own NFTs to engage with their fanbase.
It’s a fun partnership and given the announcement of NIKELAND I will be keeping a close eye on all the brands involved in the weeks and months to follow. Undoubtedly other brands will be sure to take notice. And now we wait.
Pokimane X American Video Game League launch $100,000 scholarship
Popular content creator Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys has announced a partnership with collegiate production company American Video Game League (AVGL) to launch a $100,000 (~£74,768) scholarship for students involved in gaming and esports.
As part of the announcement, both parties will be donating $50,000 (~£37,389), with the amount divided amongst 10 winners who will each receive $10,000 (~£7,477) as part of the scholarship fund. In addition, AVGL plans to donate an additional $50,000 (~£37,389) for the winners of the scholarship, which is meant to help students pay their college tuition.
Anys commented on the announcement: “With both of my parents being teachers, I’m especially proud to be launching another scholarship to help students with a gaming passion.
“I know firsthand that it’s not easy to balance schoolwork and a gaming career. I hope that this scholarship will alleviate that stress for aspiring gaming content creators and players.”
As part of the announcement scholarships are open until Dec 31st, with the winners set to be revealed in Feb 2022. This marks the third scholarship Pokimane has created, following partnerships with UCI Esports to fund an annual scholarship for students involved in gaming and esports as well as funding scholarships for STEM students through the STEM Advantage Program.
Pokimane has definitely been busy in recent weeks following her recently co-founding a talent management and brand consulting company RTS, where she is the current chief creative officer, and this seems to be a move we can expect to see more from the creator.
Overall it is great to see big streamers such as Pokimane utilising their platform to give back to their community, and continuing to contribute to the growth of the industry, as well as helping to aspire the next generation of talent.
Epic Games acquires Harmonix Music Systems
Global publisher powerhouse Epic Games have announced they have acquired Harmonix Music System for an undisclosed amount.
Harmonix Music Systems, who are the creators of iconic titles such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Dance Central and FUSER, have announced in a joint statement that they will be joining Epic Games’ umbrella moving forward to work across a number of projects across the title Fortnite.
As part of a new initiative they will continue to develop a ‘musical journeys and gameplay’ for users within the game. It certainly is an interesting move for Epic Games who have recently experimented with virtual concerts within Fortnite.
Last year Epic Games partnered with artist Travis Scott who held a live concert within Fortnite, which was a first of it’s kind last Apri, and drew more than 12 million concurrent views with an estimated 50% of players using the games creative move. This was a move which cemented the brand within the metaverse.
While it is still too early to see how this acquisition will impact the industry moving forward, the clear synergy between music and gaming and the roles both industries play within contemporary culture is an interesting avenue for Epic Games to explore. We’ve seen platforms such as Twitch forge partnerships with Warner Music Group (HERE) while esports organisations such as FaZe Clan have partnered with artists directly so this certainly seems like a move for Epic Game’s to diversify its portfolio of titles which scope to expand its metaverse within Fortnite.
Partnerships Lowdown
G2 Esports X New Era Cap
European based esports organisation G2 Esports have announced a partnership with North American headwear company New Era Cap as their exclusive headwear partner. As part of the announcement, the two brands will collaborate on a range of headwear including caps and beanies.
This latest partnership sees New Era become the third fashion brand to partner with G2 Esports’ commercial portfolio, alongside Adidas and Ralph Lauren. It also marks the third partnership for New Era within esports after previously collaborating on an apparel range for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports and Bombers, owned by Essendon Football Club.
JLINGZ Esport X Boost Gaming
UK-based esports organisation JLINGZ esports, owned by professional football (Soccer) player Jesse Lingard, have announced a partnership with online digital gaming shop Boost Gaming. As part of the announcement, which Kairos may have filmed content for (HERE) both brands will collaborate on a number of activations over the next twelve months including giveaways, interviews and social media content.
Furthermore, Boost Gaming’s logo will feature on JLINGZ esports’ team jerseys throughout the duration of the deal. JLINGZ esports joins North American organisation Pittsburgh Knights as a partner of the digital gaming shop.
Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions lowdown
North Carolina Governor signs $5m Esports Industry Grant Fund
Esports Entertainment Holding company Subnation Media and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor Bureau have announced that governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper has signed a new state legislature budget. The budget will include a $5m (~£3.7m) grant, which will be used to encourage esports events and productions in the state.
This is certainly a welcomed move within the esports industry, having a state-sponsored grant will no doubt begin to raise awareness of esports, gaming and technology brands within North Carolina, as this will help boost the local economy from future events.
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