Esports tournament organiser BLAST has expanded and renewed its partnership with Epic Games, allowing the company to continue producing the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and start producing the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS).
BLAST did not share the duration of the deal but did note that both contracts are ‘multi-year’ in length and that it will run all operations for both games in the future. BLAST will also be responsible for the commercial rights of broadcasts and events for FNCS and RLCS.
Although mostly known for being behind well-known Counter-Strike series BLAST Premier, BLAST also operates several high-profile leagues and events in other games, such as Rainbow Six Siege and FNCS.
The company first partnered with Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, in 2021 to deliver the FNCS All-Star Showdown and FNCS Grand Royale events. BLAST has since expanded on the partnership, culminating in the production of all FNCS events in 2022 and 2023. The last FNCS event of the 2023 season was one of the most-watched in the history of the game, according to Esports Charts.
As for Rocket League, this will be a first for BLAST. The RLCS was produced by ESL through DreamHack in the past, as a part of the partnership between ESL and Psyonix first struck in 2020.
The Rocket League esports series has shown promise and attracted solid viewership numbers in 2023, but it remains to be seen what the game’s esports ecosystem will look like in 2024.
Going forward, BLAST shared that the company will run all operations of competitions, event production, and marketing of the RLCS and FNCS. This means that BLAST will be in charge of all league operations for the FNCS, which is a first for the company.
Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer for BLAST, commented: “Working together with the world’s biggest game publishers to elevate and grow their competitive properties has been a huge area of focus for BLAST in recent years.
“This collaboration is a testament to that hard work and we are delighted to expand our relationship with Epic Games by operating the Rocket League Championship Series in addition to the Fortnite Championship Series.”
