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Esports talent agency Loaded is planning to increase client Tyler “Ninja” Blevins’ mainstream star power next year by placing him in movies and television shows, according to Popdog COO Josh Swartz, whose company owns Loaded.
Blevins is widely recognized as one of the most well-known gamers in the world. However, Swartz said that Blevins “is a unique opportunity; he has the ability to become the Tony Hawk, the face of gaming, globally.” Blevins earlier this year left Twitch to sign a major streaming deal with Microsoft-owned platform Mixer, and he also has endorsements with adidas and Red Bull plus licensing deals to sell Ninja merchandise.
Adidas today revealed a new “adidas by Ninja” shoe it collaborated with Blevins on called the “Time In Nite Runner” that will go on sale Dec. 31.
Swartz said that Loaded and Blevins are trying to be “very thoughtful about building his brand for the next 20 years, not the next two years, and you’ll see a lot of stuff in 2020 that are more mainstream opportunities: film, television, other content opportunities that most content creators don’t get.”
Swartz declined to disclose the specific projects. Swartz, who said it is still far too early to judge Ninja’s impact on Mixer, added that being the face of gaming is what ultimately “will be his legacy.”
Adam Stern is a staff writer for Sports Business Journal, where this article first appeared.
