Each week, ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in written form below.
On this week’s ESI Digest, we cover CMG.ASIA and NRG Esports launching NRG Asia, London Royal Ravens’ Midnite partnership, Enthusiast Gaming acquiring Tabwire, the Global Esports Games unveiling its first host cities, plus FaZe Clan’s Kai Henry appointment.
This edition of the ESI Digest is in partnership with REELY.
CMG.ASIA and NRG Esports launch NRG Asia, acquire GAM Esports
Vietnamese lifestyle and entertainment company CMG.ASIA has joined forces with North American esports organisation NRG Esports to launch NRG Asia, a management company that will look to represent and develop esports entities in Southeast Asia.
The newly formed company also unveiled that it has purchased GAM Esports, the current VCS League of Legends champions, from marketing agency yup.gg. Financial details regarding the acquisition have not been revealed.
London Royal Ravens bets on Midnite partnership
The London Royal Ravens, ReKTGlobal’s Call of Duty League franchise, has announced a partnership with esports and sports betting platform Midnite.
According to the release, the new partnership will include a jersey sponsorship alongside content creation, with more activations set to be announced at a later date. The London Royal Ravens are due to debut Midnite’s logo on their jerseys for the remainder of the 2021 CDL season. The team heads into the Call of Duty League Stage III Major later today (May 13th).
Enthusiast Gaming acquires Tabwire, unveils gaming social network plans
Toronto-based media and content platform Enthusiast Gaming, the parent company of Luminosity Gaming, has announced plans to develop a subscription-based social network for gamers, code-named Project GG.
To facilitate the development of the project, which is expected to be made available later this year, Enthusiast Gaming has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire data platform Tabwire LLC for $11m (£7.81m).
Global Esports Games unveils first host cities
Global Esports Federation (GEF) has announced that the first three host cities for the Global Esports Games, a multi-title esports competition, are Singapore, Istanbul, and Riyadh.
Singapore will host this year’s event, scheduled to take place in December, with Istanbul, Turkey and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia hosting the Global Esports Games in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
FaZe Clan announces Kai Henry as Chief Strategy Officer
North American esports and lifestyle organisation FaZe Clan has announced the hiring of Kai Henry as its Chief Strategy Officer.
As part of his new role, Henry will oversee all of FaZe Clan’s creative strategy, which includes being tasked with ‘expanding and steering’ the organisation’s creative hub. The role will also see Henry work alongside the founding members of FaZe Clan who lead all creative decision making for the organisation.
ESI Digest, in partnership with Reely.ai, is part of the ESI Podcast Network, a collection of podcasts encompassing the esports industry. For deep dives into the major areas of esports with subject matter experts, check out ESI Focus. For conversations with key personnel and major stakeholders in esports, ESI Insight is the series for you.