Mentioned in this article
May was packed with major esports deals, from Epic Games’ 
purchase of developer Psyonix and Rocket League to the acquisitions of teams Evil Geniuses and MAD Lions Esports Club. However, terms were not disclosed for any of May’s company acquisitions—so the disclosed investment total of just over $56M USD was surely far less than the actual amount of money that changed hands in the industry during the month. Here’s a look at at all of the big esports investments and acquisition deals from May 2019.
Epic Games Picks Up Psyonix, Rocket League
Credit: Epic Games
Psyonix Studios kicked off May by announcing that it would be acquired by Epic Games, with the deal expected to close early in June. Psyonix is the independent studio behind car-soccer game Rocket League and the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), now in its seventh season.
Rocket League has carved out a unique niche in the esports ecosystem with no close analog to its fast-paced, oft-aerial sports action, and is considered one of the most mainstream-friendly esports due to the game’s relative simplicity. Psyonix recently signed a sponsorships and ad sales partnership with Turner Sports’ ELEAGUE for the RLCS, and the league will also be featured via feature recap series on TBS. The company also teamed with DreamHack
for a series of four $100K tournaments in 2019.
Related Article: How Epic Games Can Turbo-Charge Rocket League Esports
Epic Games and Psyonix both declined to comment on the terms of the deal, and the companies have not yet commented on how Epic’s vast resources and burgeoning interest in esports—as seen with Fortnite and its $100M push—could impact the future of Rocket League. The Esports Observer explored the potential benefits and drawbacks to Epic’s involvement in an opinion piece entitled, “How Epic Games Can Turbo-Charge Rocket League Esports.”
Evil Geniuses Gets New Owner, CEO
Credit: Evil Geniuses
Esports organization Evil Geniuses
was acquired in May by PEAK6 Investments LLC, a Chicago-based technology and investment firm. Nicole LaPoint Jameson, previously an associate in PEAK6’s Strategic Capital division, has taken the role of Evil Geniuses’ CEO. The team’s COO, Phillip Aram, will continue on in his position.
“We’ve long been investors in traditional sports and are thrilled to enter the competitive gaming community in such an impactful way,” said PEAK6 co-founder Jenny Just, in a release. “Having watched the esports industry grow and evolve, we are aligned with Evil Geniuses’ vision to create meaningful and innovative experiences for fans and athletes alike. This alliance enhances our mission to lead with an unrelenting competitive drive and a desire to embrace today’s consumer through technology.”
Evil Geniuses declined to disclose the terms of the deal. The organization was previously owned by Twitch
until the streaming platform decided to divest itself of all team ownership in 2016; ownership was given to the players and their selected management instead. Evil Geniuses currently competes in several games, including Dota 2 , Call of Duty , and Rainbow Six Siege .
OverActive Media Acquires Two Companies
Credit: OverActive Media
Splyce
and Toronto Defiant parent company OverActive Media (OAM) had a busy April, adding R&B singer Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and hospitality entrepreneur David Grutman as investors—but the company had an even busier May after that. Early in the month, OAM was announced as one of the first teams to secure a slot in Activision Blizzard’s new geolocated, franchised Call of Duty league (for Toronto). OAM also added Jason Toledano as its COO.
The company also had two big acquisitions during May. First, OAM acquired esports-centric events company MediaXP
and formed its own OAM LIVE division, with MediaXP founder Ken Silva joining OAM in an unspecified role. According to a release, OAM Live will “provide current and future partners with a foundation for everything gaming and esports with turnkey media production delivery.”
Later in the month, OAM also added Spanish organization MAD Lions Esports Club, and will maintain the brand in European and Latin American markets. OAM will use MAD Lions’ Madrid High Performance Center facility as its European and Latin American Team Operations headquarters. The move gives OAM 15 total teams across seven countries and multiple brands. Terms were not disclosed for either acquisition.
Other Investments
Credit: MateCrate/SportPlatz Media
Immortals
closed a $30M USD Series B funding round in May, and rebranded its holding company from Immortals, LLC to Immortals Gaming Club (IGC). This came following the acquisition of Brazilian matchmaking platform, Gamers Club , and funds from the Series B round will also be used to build infrastructure in the company and expand out Gamers Club further.
Meanwhile, Rogue
parent company ReKTGlobal expanded its roster of music industry investors with the addition of Latin music producer Marco “Tainy” Masís and music executive Lex Borrero. Both will focus on Latin American growth via partnerships and streaming content, and are also now co-owners of Rogue. ReKTGlobal already has DJ and entertainer Steve Aoki and rock band Imagine Dragons as part of its ownership group.
Spanish multimedia and communications group Mediapro acquired the remaining 50% stake of Fandroid, which it first bought a majority share of in 2016. Fandroid owns the Liga de Videojuegos Profesional (LVP), which operates the Spanish Superliga Orange for League of Legends , Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , and Clash Royale . The deal is reportedly valued at €22M ($24.6M).
Lastly, German amateur tournament operator MateCrate
announced a €1.4M ($1.57M) funding round. MateCrate operates City Masters, a German amateur League of Legends tournament in four cities. Two additional cities will be added for this fall’s second season, which is expected to draw more than 20,000 total participants. Marketing agency and IT services provider Sportplatz Media teamed with soccer magazine Kicker and the Innovation Starter Fund Hamburg to raise the investment.
