The new year continues to shake up the gaming industry. After the Microsoft Blizzard deal, a nine-digit amount is now due again.
First Activision Blizzard, now the next big name. After Microsoft recently amazed the gaming industry with a gigantic takeover, another big player is now changing hands. The Electronic Sports League, best known by its acronym ESL, will no longer be administered by the Modern Times Group.
Instead, the Swedish company struck a deal with Savvy Gaming Group from Saudi Arabia. The market leader in the eSports segment is to be sold for a total of 1.050 billion US dollars. Behind the financiers is the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund of the kingdom. This is intended to secure the country’s wealth regardless of the profits from the oil trade.
ESL changes hands and merges with FACEIT
However, the Saudis are not only aiming for one size of the scene. In addition to the eSports organizer from Cologne, the fund also took over the London company FACEIT, which is to merge with ESL to form the ESL FACEIT Group. For this, another 500 million US dollars were due.
The press release states that with over 30 years of experience, both have played a key role in the growth and increasing popularity of the eSports and competitive gaming industry around the world. From now on, they will act together as a driving force, whereby all stakeholders should for the first time follow a unified path.
