Game taps Strive Sponsorship to drive eSports strategy and open the space to brands
ESports is too big to be ignored by UK video game retailer Game, so in acknowledgement of this, it has teamed up with entertainment consultancy Strive Sponsorship to tap into its eSports expertise.
Game Belong
Game’s owner Multiplay already runs gaming festivals, so the retailer will be adapted to integrate itself, and partner brands with these activities and the wider sector.
Strive will mentor Game and Multiplay in delivering a return on eSports activities, both for games publishers and the sponsors who will be required to fund the drive.
Malph Minns, managing director of Strive, said that Game is an “iconic part of the British high street” and underlined its shift from a traditional retailer into the realm of gaming experiences.
“Game has been a key innovator in building the UK gaming industry and community at a grassroots level, and we look forward to helping them with the next stage of its evolution.”
Game’s senior vice-president of eSports and competitive gaming, Craig Fletcher, added: “Strive is the first agency we have come across that has a unique blend of truly understanding both the gaming and growing eSports scene, whilst having a legacy of success in the commercialisation of traditional sport and entertainment.”
It's no surprise the retailer is driving into the eSports space, the industry globally will attract an estimated billion dollars from advertisers come 2021, a four-fold increase upon 2016 returns.