Esports organisation Galaxy Racer (GXR) has recently taken up considerable interest in further expansion into the Asian market, and we are witnessing a rapid growth of the Dubai-based esports organisation.
After the company appointed new heads of marketing for India & South Asia and SEA, it expanded its presence into Pakistan and organised a $100,000 (~£76000) tournament in the country. Moreover, on January 13th, Galaxy Racer announced a projected investment of $10m (£7.28m) into Malaysia’s esports ecosystem. Galaxy Racer’s strategy for penetrating the South Asian market is yet another interesting case study of a foreign organisation trying to expand into the region.
To kick things off, Galaxy Racer has taken up influencer marketing as its top strategy to make a big splash in the Pakistani market. From appointing national celebrity Fakhr-e-Alam as its CEO for GXR Pakistan to signing the country’s top Fortnite player Nyle ‘Nyle’ Hasan, it all falls under the plans of securing local business partnership opportunities with the help of impactful influencer marketing strategies.
Given the history of Fakhr-e-Alam’s successful entrepreneurial endeavors, GXR is in good hands to strengthen its reach to the grassroots of Pakistani Esports. Equipped with the expertise of an international esports organisation like GXR, Alam is passionate about building a strong esports ecosystem that will actively invest in the nation’s top regional esports talents and connect them to the global circuit.
Going forward with its influencer-first strategy for expansion in other markets as well, GXR has also secured a partnership with Iraqi content creator Noor Stars, who is the first person in the MENA region to reach 10 million subscribers on a social platform, and one of the most popular content creators in the Arab speaking world.
According to a release, GXR now carries over 100 content creators, with a total reach of over 370 million followers across all platforms and more than two billion views in total. All this was achieved by GXR’s roster of content creators within a span of two years.
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Coming back to its plans for Pakistan, the organisation has already secured a deal with the Pakistani Government initiative known as Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) that encourages foreign technology companies to invest in Pakistan. Although the Pakistani esports ecosystem still looks underdeveloped when compared to the growing market of neighboring countries like India and Bangladesh, the government’s support is something that will give the nation as well as GXR better development opportunities.
Moreover, considering how Fnatic was forced to leave South Asia’s mobile gaming market following the ban on PUBG Mobile imposed by the Indian government, the Pakistani market may be more secure for long-term growth plans.
Furthermore, to mark its grand entry into the Pakistani esports scene, the organisation hosted a PKR 20,000,000 (~£85000) esports tournament in Pakistan, the largest in the country’s history. Named ‘Gamers Galaxy’, the event took place in January at the Pak-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad. The whole event was purportedly televised in partnership with Pakistan’s biggest sports television channel TEN Sports, marking the first Pakistani esports event televised live on national TV.
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Gamers Galaxy included popular competitive titles including Valorant, PUBGM, Tekken and FIFA, with the competitive events topped off with appearances by content creators and influencers, alongside music concerts led by some of Pakistan’s biggest names. Given Pakistan’s growing hunger for casual content consumption and entertainment, this likely resulted in a significant growth in viewership for the Pakistani esports scene.
According to an official release from GXR, the organisation is also aiming to create job opportunities within the Pakistani market as well as nurturing its gaming talents by boosting the country’s gaming system through investments. GXR is focused on capturing the attention of Pakistan’s youth population — which is one of the largest in the world — therefore making it a great market to future-proof its business in South Asia.
However, this is not the first time GXR is investing some serious money in the region. In January 2021, the organisation hosted a Fortnite tournament with a prize pool of $10,000 (~£7,000). Moreover, the company also received patronage from Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum for an India versus Pakistan Fortnite tournament earlier this year.
Given the immense growth and future potential that the mobile esports scene is witnessing, it’ll be interesting to see whether the company pivots towards a more mobile-first strategy in the future — one of many reasons to keep your eye on Galaxy Racer.
This story is written in collaboration with AFK Gaming. AFK Gaming is an India-based esports media and content company that aims to provide quality and consistent coverage about teams, players, tournaments, and competitive video games with a primary focus on the Asian region.