North American esports organisation Evil Geniuses (EG) has announced a rebranding activation to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
The rebranding will see the return of its fan-favourite logo which was changed to the current iteration back in 2019. A range of activations, events and other celebrations are also planned. In addition, the brand has announced a partnership with footwear brand Allbirds.
Founded in 1999, Evil Geniuses is one of the oldest esports organisations that still operates under the same name in the world and the oldest in the United States.
Arguably the most important segment of the celebrations is the return of the old EG logo, which will be featured on the organisation’s VALORANT jerseys during the VCT Americas Stage 2, along with a star above it to commemorate the team’s victory in the VCT Champions 2023.
Kayci Evans, Global Head of Marketing and Brand Partnerships for Evil Geniuses told Esports Insider that the organisation’s leadership knew that they wanted to bring back the vintage logo for some time.
“The idea was to bring the original logo under our banner for the upcoming VALORANT Champions run because we feel like it’s a little bit of like, righting our wrongs in the past. We feel like that’s the logo that everybody knows so well from EG.”
Evil Geniuses has since confirmed that the vintage logo is here to stay and will be used by the organisation in the future.
The organisation’s previous logo used between 2019 and 2024 was never received by fans in the manner that the organisation desired. Evans commented that under its new rebranding, the organisation now wants to continue Evil Geniuses’ legacy and celebrate its first 25 years.
As part of its anniversary celebrations, Evil Geniuses will create a merchandise drop that will be launched later this year. According to Evans, the capsule “will give a nod to the original 90s logo” which will include retro-inspired clothes and, interestingly, a rug. Along with merchandising, EG aims to create a newsletter focused on their Genius League, which will focus on educating parents on the benefits of gaming and the basics of esports. The newsletter will be called the Genius Guide to Gaming.
Evans explained: “This is really our first initiative of reaching Gen Alpha through their parents. We’re really trying to hone in on education as the next biggest thing. You know, kids at home want their first PC or first console. For us, that is the way to keep this (EG) going – we will keep going younger, so that means presenting towards Gen Alpha. We want parents to get a better understanding of esports, that you can get a full scholarship for esports, that sort of thing.”
Evil Geniuses CEO Chris DeAppolonio, added in a release that the organisation had its ups and downs over the years, but is committed to improving as a plan to build the next 25 years.
He said: “This logo means so much to our fans and this community, and we couldn’t think of a better time to bring it back than now as we launch our very first VALORANT Championship jersey and celebrate 25 historic years of EG. Like any team, we’ve had our ups and downs over the years, and while we can’t fix everything in the past, we’re committed to continuously improving as we plan for the next 25 years of EG.”
