Each month, Esports Insider recaps the biggest esports sponsorship and partnership news from the month prior. Below is our list of the biggest partnerships from October 2022.
October saw major non-endemic brand deals including Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Mastercard, KOI taking over Rogue’s LEC slot through a partnership, new joint venture tournaments and digital collectibles, and much more.
Interested in the narratives behind the news? Subscribe to The Dotted Line newsletter for a no-nonsense, bi-monthly analysis of the most important partnership stories — and the trends that lie behind them. Click here for a direct link to the last edition.
Spotlighted story:
Financial company Mastercard and Game developer Riot Games have announced an extension of their multi-year League of Legends global esports partnership.
Mastercard will remain an official sponsor of the League of Legends World Championship, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the All-Star event. The deal also includes sponsorship of the events’ opening ceremonies.
European esports organisations Rogue and KOI have officially joined forces to announce a ‘strategic alliance’ that will see KOI, owned by Ibai Lianos, compete in the LEC next year.
Very few details were disclosed in the official announcement. As such, there is no concrete information on the percentage split of the LEC franchise spot as well as the purchase amount.
College esports platform Brag House has launched a new Fortnite tournament, Black & Positively Golden Gamers, in partnership with Coca-Cola and McDonald’s USA.
The tournament will see 400 student gamers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) compete for $15,000 (~£13,350) in scholarships, provided by Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Korean American hip hop artist and record label CEO Jay Park has been named the Executive Music and Entertainment Advisor for multinational esports organisation Gen.G.
Park’s role will entail advising the organisation in order to bridge the gap between Korean music and gaming communities. The rapper’s first project following his new position was Gen.G’s League of Legends 2022 World Championship anthem, featuring Korean artists GroovyRoom, GEMINI and Mirani.
Comcast-owned internet service provider Xfinity has announced a partnership with North American esports and gaming organisation FaZe Clan.
As a result, Xfinity will become the official internet and mobile partner for FaZe Clan, with both companies organising a music-focused venture called The Gig. The partnership also includes a new content series focusing on gaming creators.
British telecommunications giant Virgin Media has announced a partnership with Irish-based esports organisation WYLDE.
The announcement also revealed that WYLDE will open its first performance centre based in Cork, Republic of Ireland. The centre, which will be ‘powered by Virgin Media’, is set to host competitive gaming events as well as boot camps for the organisation’s teams.
Australian esports organisation The Chiefs Esports Club has renewed its partnership with global skincare brand L’Oréal Paris Men Expert. As a result, the brand will remain a major partner of the organisation for the remainder of 2022.
The renewal marks the third year of L’Oréal Paris Men Expert partnering with The Chiefs after the organisation entered a deal with the brand back in July 2020. Over the past three years, the two parties have collaborated on a range of activations including an invitational VALORANT tournament.
Sportswear brand PUMA has partnered with Indian esports organisation Revenant Esports.
PUMA will become the official kit supplier for all Revenant Esports teams, as well as its content creators. The partnership will last for at least one season, although Revenant Esports did not clarify exactly how long that is.
Esports Insider has collaborated with online payment giant Nuvei to produce a whitepaper analysing revenue streams, payment method data and current practices across the esports industry.
The whitepaper provides an in-depth analysis into how money currently flows in the industry. Topics discussed include revenue streams, payment methods, international payments, sponsorship deals, and more. The Payments and the Monetization of Esports whitepaper is available for free on the ESI Marketplace.
ESL FACEIT Group, the holding company behind ESL Gaming and FACEIT, has announced the first ever ESL Apex Legends Premiership Tournament.
The tournament, which is an extension of its existing ESL Premiership brand, sees peripherals company Logitech and technology giant Intel join as sponsors.
Digital collectible platform Kolex, ESL FACEIT Group (the holding company behind ESL Gaming and FACEIT) and partner teams of the ESL Pro League have announced a digital collectibles partnership.
The digital items will become available during the IEM Rio Major, CS:GO’s upcoming championship, and will feature collecitbles from 16 esports organisations that are partners in the Louvre Agreement. The NFTs will be available through Kolex’s website and is also for mobile devices on both iOS and Android.
