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.
In this week’s ESI Digest we cover, Gen.G’s Puma expansion, McLaren’s new esports facility, LOUD signing two Olympic skateboarders, ESL’s exclusive media rights deal with G4, and Apex Legends’s esports plans for the ALGS second season.
This edition of the ESI Digest is in partnership with Omnicoach.
Gen.G expands PUMA partnership
Multinational esports organisation Gen.G has announced a worldwide expansion of its partnership with global sportswear brand PUMA.
As a part of the deal, PUMA will become the official jersey partner of Gen.G’s pro teams and creators, this includes Gen.G VALORANT players and creators in North America. The original partnership only included the organisation’s South Korean activities.
McLaren Racing unveils esports facility in UK
UK-based motorsport team McLaren Racing has announced the launch of the McLaren Shadow Studio, a space for its esports teams and ambassadors to train, race, and produce content.
The facility, which is based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, UK, builds on the McLaren Shadow programme and is the result of collaborations between its various partners. These include Alienware, Splunk, Logitech G, Tezos and QNTMPAY.
LOUD signs Olympic skateboarders Luiz Francisco and Pedro Quintas
Brazilian esports organisation LOUD has signed Olympic skateboarders Luiz Francisco and Pedro Quintas as talents representing the team.
The announcement sees the two skateboarders inaugurate a new branch within the organisation called LOUD Skate. Further details over the branch have yet to be revealed. Both skateboarders are representing Brazil at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Apex Legends announces esports plans for ALGS second season
Respawn Entertainment has unveiled its Apex Legends esports plans for the second season of its Global Series (ALGS).
The second season, which is scheduled to take commence in September 2021, will see a number of changes, according to the release. The first major change is that the series will have a new format that creates separate levels of competition for ‘both professional and amateur Apex Legends players’.
ESL signs exclusive media rights deal with G4
Esports tournament organiser ESL Gaming has granted exclusive media rights to G4, the long-dormant gaming TV network set to return under Comcast NBC Universal in 2021.
G4 will produce and broadcast exclusive primetime programmes around ESL content, from launch to IEM Katowice 2022 pending any renewals. This deal marks the first time that ESL events will air on linear TV in the U.S. and Canada.
ESI Digest, in partnership with Omnicoach, 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.