The Rainbow Six Pro League will open up revenue sharing for more teams, and Nissan sponsors both OpTic Gaming and FaZe Clan.
Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days!
After rolling out last year’s revenue-sharing pilot program with in-game items based on esports organizations, Ubisoft plans to add more teams to Rainbow Six Siege‘s program. Phase 2 of Rainbow Six Siege‘s revenue-sharing pilot program will include 16 teams, up from 11 last year. The program gives participating teams a cut of net revenue from in-game items while also funding the Six Invitational prize pool. Teams that participated in the initial wave of the pilot program are not guaranteed a spot in Phase 2.
Aquilini GameCo Inc. has raised $25M CAD ($18.7M USD) to acquire Luminosity Gaming, the company announced this week, following last month’s issuance of a letter of intent. The financing will be used to fund the acquisition, as well as growth initiatives and working capital.
Luminosity Gaming and Aquilini are already partners through the Vancouver Titans Overwatch League team, which The Aquilini Group owns and Luminosity operates. The Vancouver-based organization also fields teams in games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Fortnite.
Additionally, upon closing, Canucks Sports and Entertainment will provide marketing and business support services via a Vancouver Arena Limited Partnership.
Supercell has gradually released details in recent weeks about the upcoming second season of the Clash Royale League (CRL), and last week the publisher revealed two key changes coming when the strategic mobile battler resumes competition.
According to a Q&A-style blog post, the next CRL season will have a prize pool of “at least” $1M, with the full amount still to be determined. Supercell’s post doesn’t specify whether a potentially increased amount could come from the sale of in-game items, for example, or via further partnerships with sponsors.
The other key detail confirmed by the Q&A is that the CRL will officially ditch portrait-oriented broadcasts next season. The North American and European broadcasts previously took that approach to better reflect the play experience and make it more ideal for mobile viewing.
Major Sponsorships and Partnerships
Automaker Nissan has signed sponsorship deals with both FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming, becoming the latest car company to partner with an esports organization in 2019.
FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming players will wear Nissan logos on their jerseys, and the teams will have access to Nissan vehicles to aid with content creation. Nissan’s Armada, Altima, Kicks, and Leaf vehicles will be featured in the content campaign.
DreamHack’s CORSAIR DreamLeague Dota 2 tournament has added Caffeine as an additional streaming platform alongside Twitch. A DreamLeague representative confirmed to The Esports Observer that the deal also includes future events, and that more details will be released soon. 21st Century Fox invested $100M in Caffeine last September as part of a funding round that also included Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, and other undisclosed investors.
Online tech retailer Newegg has entered a multiyear agreement with Allied Esports to feature its branding within the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas. Newegg will be a founding partner and official e-commerce partner of the venue, with branding featured throughout the venue and within its online and social presence. Additionally, Newegg and Allied Esports will develop and host twice-annual co-branded events at the venue.
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