North American esports organisation XSET has acquired women-led gaming lifestyle company Queens Gaming Collective.
The organisation will provide a range of support for the company as a result of the deal, ranging from talent management to brand partnerships. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2020, Queens Gaming Collective built a diverse talent roster including female content creators, musicians and professional athletes.
Following the acquisition, Queens Gaming Collective co-founder Justin J. Giangrande will transition to XSET’s Head of Talent.
In a release, XSET said the acquisition ‘is an important milestone’ for the organisation, which claims to have consolidated its position as one of North America’s fastest-growing organisations. In 2023 so far XSET has hired David Luce as its Chief Content Officer and Jacob Arce as its Head of Esports.
Now under the XSET banner, Queens Gaming Collective aims to expand its support of women gamers through driving inclusive changes within the gaming and esports industries. XSET has had a focus on diversity as an organisation since its founding in 2020.
The acquisition is the second for XSET. In April 2022, the organisation announced the acqui-hire of talent agency Astoic Management in a deal which resulted in two senior hires.
Prior to the acquisition, Queens Gaming Collective secured a partnership with digital media firm LiveXLive Media to create original content across its platforms.
The acquisition comes as several other North American organisations have been struggling financially recently. CLG was acquired last week after laying off all its staff, TSM is reportedly set to pull out of several esports titles, and FaZe Clan’s financial troubles continue to play out publicly.
Grek Selkoe, Co-founder and CEO of XSET, spoke on the deal: “As XSET is already a globally recognised gaming lifestyle brand, it’s important that we work alongside those who share our vision of ensuring diversity and inclusion in gaming.
“Queens has been a leading voice on this issue and has worked to level the playing field for women in gaming for the last several years. We’re excited to bring them into XSET to work together to create new opportunities, revenue streams, merchandise and anything else to help support The Queens.”
