Each month, Esports Insider compiles a list of the most prominent esports movers and shakers of that month. March saw some layoffs, as is the norm these days, but also some interesting, unexpected developments.
Adam Apicella left Esports Engine just days after it was bought by ESL FACEIT Group, Karl Jacobs of MrBeast fame joined Misfits, and Astralis promoted new team members following the departure of its Commercial Director. Twitch’s CEO stepped down, FaZe promoted Matt Augustin to VP, and much, much more.
Here are the top movers and shakers for March 2023. If you are interested in a story, click the link in the corresponding title.
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Twitch Co-founder Emmett Shear has announced he is stepping down as CEO of the live-streaming platform.
It has been revealed that Dan Clancy, Twitch’s current President, will become the platform’s new CEO, effective immediately. Shear will still work for Twitch, albeit in an advisory role.
Shear’s announcement was revealed on a Twitch blog post, with the founder stating that the birth of his son was a factor in his decision to step down.
In the blog post, Shear stated: “With my first child just born, I’ve been reflecting on my future with Twitch. Twitch often feels to me like a child I’ve been raising as well. And while I will always want to be there if Twitch needs me, at 16 years old it feels to me like Twitch is ready to move out of the house and venture alone. “
Evgeniy Roshchupkin, the CEO of British esports organisation Tundra Esports, has announced his departure from the company via a LinkedIn post.
Roshchupkin did not give an exact reason for his departure. Moreover, he did not share details about any future plans.
The news of Roshchupkin’s departure comes around a month after David Dastoyan joined Tundra Esports as its new Head of Business Development. Around the same time the organisation’s Director, Danny Lopez, launched his own gaming and creative studio.
Adam Apicella has left Esports Engine, an event production and solutions company that he co-founded in 2019 and was the acting President. The news was first reported by The Esports Advocate.
Esports Engine is owned by Vindex, an infrastructure company that also owns Belong Gaming Arenas. Vindex, along with all its subsidiaries, was acquired by ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) earlier this month. EFG itself is a merger between long-standing tournament operator ESL and competition platform FACEIT.
Danish esports organisation Astralis has announced changes to its leadership structure as the company’s Commercial Director, Kasper Sindt, leaves Astralis to pursue other ventures.
Sindt’s role will be filled by Niclas Nybjerg and Mads Rasmussen, two of Astralis’ existing executives. The company noted that its new organisational changes will look to increase transparency and improve internal processes.
Kasper Sindt, the former Commercial Director for Astralis, joined the company in March 2021. Sindt came to Astralis after a stint in the Danish Football Association, and prior to that, VELUX Group. He was an important aspect of Astralis’ partnerships for the last two years and worked on partnerships with a large number of brands, including HP OMEN, the Danish Union, hummel, and Greater Copenhagen.
Esports and gaming organisation Misfits Gaming Group has announced that streamer, YouTuber and content creator Karl Jacobs has joined the company as an owner and creative director.
Jacobs will head content efforts for Misfits as an executive, but also as a content creator for the American gaming brand. Alongside Jacobs, streamer and content creator AustinShow will also join Misfits as a content creator and executive producer.
Esports and gaming media network GAMURS Group has laid off a wave of staff and freelance workers, with losses focused on its editorial departments, according to several former employees and a swath of social media posts.
The exact number of freelance and full-time employees that have been cut is not clear, but at least 50 journalists and writers have publicly announced being laid off, per a compiled list reviewed by Esports Insider.
Former professional CS:GO player turned content creator Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek and content creator Chris ‘Sacriel’ Ball have joined forces with game developer Splash Damage.
The collaboration will see Shroud and Sacriel advise on a new survival game codenamed Project Astrid.
Shroud and Sacriel will act as Executive Creators to collaborate with the developer to create Project Astrid. Splash Damage, the team behind titles such as Gears Tactics and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, will leverage the creators’ knowledge and experience to develop a game ‘worthy of the genre’.
North American esports organisation FaZe Clan has promoted Matt ‘BK’ Augustin to the role of Vice President of Brand and Creative Strategy.
Augustin was previously FaZe Clan’s Director of Brand & Creative Strategy for two years. As the new Vice President, Augustin will be responsible for optimising the organisation’s brand. This includes helping identify existing opportunities for FaZe Clan’s partners, developing its creative strategy for business proposals, and producing content.
Live streaming platform Twitch has laid off over 400 employees, the company announced in a blog post.
Twitch has stated that the current macroeconomic environment, as well as user and revenue growth not reaching expectations, are the primary reasons for the layoffs.
In the blog post, signed off by Twitch’s new CEO Dan Clancy, the company claimed it made the decision to reduce its workforce in order to run the business sustainably.
