Rocket League news outlet ShiftRLE has parted ways with its owner, Canadian esports holding company X1 Entertainment Group, the outlet announced on Twitter.
Shift will operate independently going forward, with at least some of its staff staying on in voluntary positions as the outlet seeks investors and advertisers.
Shift is an independent Rocket League esports news outlet which breaks and reports roster moves, transfers and behind-the-scenes tryouts, alongside player interviews and event coverage.
X1 acquired Shift in July 2022 for $50,000 (~£41,500) in cash, CAD$150,000 (~£97,000) worth of X1’s common shares and a 7% revenue share agreement. The acquisition also saw X1 hire four of Shift’s key personnel.
In September, X1 also acquired Rocket League statistics platform Octane.gg for $35,000 (~£30,400) and merged it into Shift’s website.
Esports Insider understands that ShiftRLE was able to divest itself from X1 Entertainment Group, despite having been acquired only 8 months ago. Details of how it managed to divest itself are currently unclear. The split officially happened on March 16th but was publicly announced by Shift on March 18th.
“We want to thank X1 for their support over the last ten months, and we are now looking for new investors and advertising opportunities,” Shift said in a statement on Twitter.
“Although Shift staff will have limited resources going forward due to returning to voluntary positions, we will continue serving the Rocket League community with news, intel and statistics.”
The news comes after X1 also ceased operations of UK esports organisation Rix.GG in December 2022.
When it wound down Rix.GG, X1 claimed it would turn its focus to Shift and its talent management firm Tyrus Talent Services. The talent firm is the only remaining publicly disclosed property in X1’s portfolio.
“[Shift are a] staple of RL journalism, hope to see y’all get another sponsor soon,” Daan ‘Hyferia’ Kesseler, a Rocket League caster, said on Twitter in response to Shift’s statement.
