As of January 4, Danish esports company BLAST has partnered with Epic Games to become the official operator of the “Rocket League” esports. Epic's choice to work with BLAST rather than Saudi-owned league operator ESL/FACEIT Group surprised many in the competitive gaming industry — and signaled that Saudi Arabia's $38 billion investment in esports may not lead to a complete takeover of the industry. As many once thought.
BLAST started out as an operator of “Counter-Strike” tournaments, but has been producing “Fortnite” events for Epic since 2021, managing Epic's entire Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) in 2022 and 2023. As part of this month's “Rocket League.” In the deal, the company will manage all event production, sales, operations and marketing for the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), as well as manage the commercial rights for both the game and its esports competitions.
“We work in a lot of traditional, off-brand games, and have been able to develop great partnerships and commerce programs,” said Leo Matlock, chief business officer at BLAST. “So to have one where maybe some of these barriers don't exist is great.”
Representatives for BLAST and Epic Games declined to clarify the exact duration or financial details of the partnership, but confirmed that the agreement was a multi-year deal.
“For RLCS, we're absolutely focused on looking at the inventory they have and maximizing it — but we don't want to remain stagnant,” said Matlock, who told Digiday that BLAST will have access to both in-game inventory such as banners. and flags and in-game inventory including event naming rights. “The point of this being a multi-year thing is that we can try, we can listen, we can learn, we can adapt, we can improve. The kinds of things that people have seen before, we'll certainly be looking to recreate them. But we're also here to see how we can make this proposal More persuasive for brands.
Change of plans
BLAST secured the 'Rocket League' deal just before the start of the 2023 break. For Epic Games, this decision was a turning point. The publisher had previously partnered with Germany-based ESL/FACEIT Group, another e-sports company, to run Rocket League events, and the two companies had been holding meetings for months to define their relationship in 2024. Participants in the negotiations at EFG told Digiday they are confident of winning Show them.
We've really enjoyed working with the Rocket League community; “I think we've done a great job across the RLCS this year,” said Craig Levin, co-CEO of the financial group. “We're proud of what we've done, and we're disappointed that we won't have the opportunity to build on that in the future. Obviously that's Epic's decision as to why they chose that.
Although Epic Games representatives declined to share further details regarding the company's decision to ultimately go with BLAST, Matlock said his company's long-standing relationship with Epic helped lay the groundwork for the deal. But there are likely other factors involved in the deal as well, given that EFG has similarly collaborated with Epic in the past, and both EFG and BLAST have already demonstrated a clear ability to run successful esports events.
Avoid fan reflux
One such potential wrinkle in the fabric of EFG-Epic was the relationship between EFG and the government of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Public Investment Fund acquired EFG in January 2022, and has since invested billions of dollars to help propel EFG into the largest league and tournament operator in the industry. However, Saudi Arabia's spotty human rights record has prompted some elements of the gaming and esports community to back away from the country's involvement, leading to protests like the one surrounding Riot Games' failed 2020 partnership with the Saudi city of NEOM, which prompted Riot to… Finish the game. The partnership took place less than a day after it was announced.
“This was definitely a feeling that we felt we were in tune with two years ago, when we first announced our partnership with him.” [PIF subsidiary] “Savvy Games Group,” Levin said. “I think when you fast forward to where we are today, and you look at the industry from the commercial side, a lot of that has gone back. I think there's been a greater understanding of the country, its culture, its ambition and ultimately the transformation they're going through.”
Given Epic Games' tendency to take ethical stances against giant corporations like Apple in the past — and its status as a privately held company that doesn't have to answer to investors — it's likely that avoiding potential backlash from fans was another reason behind Epic's decision to partner with BLAST for RLCS. Positioning BLAST as a challenger to the growing dominance that is EFG could prove beneficial to the former company as it looks to establish itself as an alternative path forward for publishers and esports teams.
“Maybe this is the Saudi thing,” said Jamie Wootton, head of esports at AFK, who helped negotiate Rocket League-focused sponsorship for major players and teams. “At the same time, they have apparently granted the Saudis a license to run Rocket League tournaments at Gamers8 for the past two years.”
I look forward
Levin stressed that his company operates more or less completely independently of its owners in the Public Investment Fund; Over the past year, esports publishers have taken notice, awarding contracts to EFG such as running “Call of Duty” events aimed at professionalism.
“ESG is now a stable, long-term, predictable partner for them,” Levin said. “When there are funding demands and uncertainty, I think publishers are wary of creating long-term commitments.”
As for the teams and players who make up Rocket League's esports scene, they're just happy to be competing after months of uncertainty surrounding the game's competitive future, which began after layoffs at Epic last year caused the company's Rocket League. The team is particularly difficult. As far as players are concerned, the name of the company that runs their league is less important than the fact that it exists at all.
“You know, I liked what ESL did for a while — but changing the organizer is never a bad thing, and it's not entirely wrong,” said Joseph “Nolly” Kidd, a senior Rocket League pro. “I'm optimistic to see what they can do for events. I'm optimistic.”
