North American esports and gaming technology company LeagueSpot has acquired community-focused esports company Mission Control.
The deal will see Mission Control aim to expand beyond the esports industry and into traditional sports within North America. Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Founded in 2018, Mission Control is a community platform for grassroots esports initiatives such as the Esports State Championship and previously secured a notable partnership broadband provider Xfinity. According to a release, the platform ‘served more than 300 organisations’ over the last six years.
In addition to the acquisition, Taryn McCarty and Rob Johnson of Ventnor Ventures have joined LeagueSpot’s Board of Directors. Both have experience within the sports sector by scaling company operations and revenue generation.
LeagueSpot is no stranger to the esports industry. In 2023, it partnered with Epic Charter Schools to renew its esports education programme for its partnered schools. In August 2022, the company secured a three-year deal with collegiate esports league NACE Starleague.
Austin Smith, CEO of Mission Control, spoke on the news: “Our business was dedicated to gathering and growing communities by utilizing recreational esports.
“We are thrilled by Mission Control’s new home with LeagueSpot because it will allow us to continue to gather communities on the LeagueSpot platform, the most impressive platform available to the market, as well as start gathering communities utilising traditional sports, taking us back to our roots.”
Interestingly, the release claims that the youth sports industry is ‘experiencing explosive growth’ with stakeholders generating ‘$10bn (~£7.6bn) annually.’ Cross-pollination between esports and traditional sports, in particular, continues to attract plenty of interest. In July, G2 Esports and Guild Esports joined the e2Real sim racing league, an initiative designed to support drivers looking to build real-world motorsport careers.