Esports tournament platform Challengermode has acquired assets from rival tournament platform Stryda following the latter’s bankruptcy.
Challengermode told Esports Insider that it had acquired Stryda’s intellectual property and technology through Stryda’s bankruptcy estate.
“The acquisition of Stryda came about quickly as we recognised an opportunity to consolidate key parts of the Nordic esports market,” said Philip Skogsberg, Co-founder and COO of Challengermode.
“With this acquisition and the strong partnerships we’ve recently established, we want to ensure the continued success and impact of the Nordics on the overall global ecosystem.”
Skogsberg claimed Challengermode had always had a ‘stronger and broader’ offering than its rival Stryda, though expressed admiration for its development team. He added that they may integrate some of Stryda’s tech in the future.
Stryda’s website now also redirects to Challengermode, where a landing page says that Challengermode has acquired ‘certain parts’ of the platform and that Stryda has shut down. Swedish media outlet BreakIt reported that Challengermode had acquired Stryda’s assets but not the company itself.
Stryda, formerly known as G-Loot, was a tournament organisation platform that let users organise and compete in esports tournaments and win prizes. The Stockholm-based company filed for bankruptcy at the Swedish Companies Registration Office on December 15th 2023, The Esports Advocate reported.
The bankruptcy and acquisition come despite Stryda having raised $98.6m since its founding in 2015, according to Crunchbase data. Its latest funding round was a $56m round in October 2020.
According to The Esports Advocate’s report, Stryda laid off all 50 remaining employees in late December, following a period of declining revenues and large consistent losses.
Meanwhile, Challengermode continues to increase its industry presence through partnerships with various organisations and tournament organisers. The company partnered with IESF’s World Esports Championship in April and Man City Esports in June 2023.
Notably, in December 2023 Challengermode struck a deal with PGL to become the exclusive platform partner for the inaugural Counter-Strike 2 Major in Copenhagen, Denmark.
