Canadian esports and entertainment company X1 Esports has entered an agreement to buy Rocket League statistics platform Octane.gg for $35,000 (~£30,400) in cash.
The purchase comes just months after X1 bought Rocket League news outlet ShiftRLE. The company says the objective of the acquisitions is to form a content hub for the game’s community.
The agreement sees X1 purchase the entirety of Octane and its assets, including the ongoing services of Octane’s two key personnel.
If conditions of the asset purchase agreement (APA) are fulfilled, X1 will acquire Octane for a total price of $35,000 (~£30,400), paid in cash. Half the amount will be paid upon closing the deal, and the second half will be paid 45 days later.
Octane will hire key personnel Elliot McSheen as the platform’s Writer, and Finn Groothengel as its Statistician, as consultants to continue operations of the Octane business for X1.
X1 Esports CEO Mark Elfenbein explained company’s thoughts behind its recent Rockt League-focused acquisitions: “Through strategically combining Octane’s community-facing assets with those of our recently announced acquisition, ShiftRLE, we believe we can fill and capitalise on a highly valuable void for a Rocket League media destination.”
Octane.gg was created in 2017 by Kartik Patel. The platform provides statistics on Rocket League esports games, tournaments, and players, which X1 plans to use in a complementary fashion to ShiftRLE’s content.
X1 additionally said it is planning a ‘possible’ Rocket League fantasy product utilising data from the Octane platform.
Rocket League, owned by Epic Games and run by developer Psyonix, has a global community of 80m players per month and is quickly expanding as an esport. The ShiftRLE and Octane.gg association, which currently sums up to 56,500 social media followers total, are the bet by X1 to explore the game’s audience potential.
In July 2022, X1 also acquired influencer management company Tyrus Talent Services, aiming to improve its connection with Gen Z audiences.
