Ukrainian organisation HellRaisers (HR) announced a rebranding effort that replaces its demon-faced logo with two downward slanting lines, seemingly representing arched eyebrows.
News of the rebrand appeared on Twitter late last week along with a promotional video and the hashtag #UniteTheHellRaisers. The video shows Dota 2 gameplay intercut with HellRaiser players as they engage in various activities such as playing video games, riding a skateboard, and breakdancing.
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In addition to Dota 2, HellRaisers fields teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Fortnite.
The organisation prefaced its rebrand on Twitter stating: “We started in 2014. Do you remember Flappy Bird and Harlem Shake? We don’t either. It’s been 10 years, and a lot has changed, so it’s time we made an upgrade too.”
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HellRaiser’s announcement garnered mixed reactions from the fans, some of whom claim to prefer the original logo. Others questioned the team’s math. Aside from the logo, the scope of HellRaisers’ rebrand has not been disclosed. Esports Insider has reached out to the organisation for more information.
A HellRaisers jersey mock-up was also shared on Twitter that features the new team logo and that of its sponsor 1XBet. Shortly after it was posted, however, the jersey’s legality was disputed. Jay West, founder of esports merchandise company ARMA, responded to the team’s post alleging that a commercial license had not been purchased for his mock-up.
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Over the weekend, the team posted a series of revised jersey concept images credited to Brazilian designer Gus Ferreira, including those seen above.
Esports Insider says: Rebrands are tricky business. The original HellRaisers logo may have been more complicated, but it showed character and looked like a mischievous demon. It remains to be seen whether fans will warm up to the rebrand, but one thing is for sure: this reveal is off to a rocky start.
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