The Esports Advocate
Esports business news: deals, legal, and governance.
Documents
Electronic Arts FY25 Earnings Report
Electronic Arts’ fiscal year 2025 earnings report highlights a period of mixed performance across its gaming portfolio, characterized by strong growth in sports franchises and anticipated headwinds for its battle royale titles.
- Electronic Arts reported total net bookings of $7.37 billion for fiscal year 2025, slightly exceeding company expectations.
- EA projects a slight decline in net bookings for fiscal year 2026, driven by anticipated headwinds in the Apex Legends franchise and catalog titles.
- Apex Legends is expected to face an estimated 5-point decline in net bookings for fiscal year 2026 due to increased competition in the battle royale market.
Riot Games Partners With Coinbase for LoL, Valorant Esports
Riot Games has entered into a multi-year partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, designating the firm as the exclusive cryptocurrency and blockchain technology partner for its premier esports properties, League of Legends (LoL) Esports and the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT).
- Riot Games has named Coinbase the exclusive cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain technology partner for its League of Legends (LoL) Esports and Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) circuits.
- The partnership will debut on June 7, 2025, at the Valorant Champions Tour Masters Toronto event.
- Coinbase will collaborate with Riot Games to integrate fan-facing enhancements, including custom segments, event activations, hospitality promotions, and giveaways.
Pura Vida Named Exclusive Jewelry Partner of Calling All Heroes
Raidiant has secured a partnership with California-based jewelry brand Pura Vida, naming the company the exclusive jewelry partner for the Calling All Heroes tournament series.
- Raidiant has named Pura Vida Bracelets as the exclusive jewelry partner for the Calling All Heroes Major 1 tournament, which begins on May 28, 2025.
- This partnership marks Pura Vida’s first entry into the esports ecosystem and its first collaboration with a tournament organizer.
- The deal includes the creation of custom jewelry inspired by Overwatch 2 hero styles and the provision of Pura Vida products to all tournament competitors.
China’s First Asian Champions League Signs Key Partners
Hero Esports, formerly known as VSPO, has secured a diverse roster of corporate partners for the inaugural Asian Champions League (ACL) and the concurrent DreamHack Shanghai event.
- Hero Esports is launching China’s first Asian Champions League (ACL), a multi-title tournament featuring a total prize pool of ¥15 million RMB ($2.04 million USD).
- The ACL will host competitions across nine titles: Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Teamfight Tactics, CrossFire, Honor of Kings, Delta Force, League of Legends, Valorant, and Street Fighter 6.
- The event will take place across three major Shanghai venues: the Shanghai SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center, the Shanghai Jing’An Sports Center, and the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center.
Milk Cup Academy Launches
The Milk Cup Academy has launched as a developmental initiative designed to support women aspiring to professional careers in Fortnite.
- The Milk Cup has launched its 2025 season for women in the United States with a total prize pool of $300,000, nearly double the amount offered in its 2024 inaugural year.
- The newly announced Milk Cup Academy provides aspiring female professional players with resources including mentorship from Fortnite pros, health and wellness guidance, and monthly scrims to facilitate team building.
- The program is supported by the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) through its 'Gonna Need Milk' campaign, with operational support from tournament organizer Raidiant and content creator ThePeachCobbler.
Behind the Scenes: Milk Cup 2025
The Milk Cup 2025 represents a significant expansion in the landscape of women-focused esports, specifically within the Fortnite ecosystem.
- The Milk Cup 2025, a women-focused Fortnite competition, has launched the 'Milk Cup Academy' to provide training, scrims, and professional guidance to help players transition toward international events like the FNCS.
- Approximately 60% of participants in the inaugural 2024 Milk Cup had never previously competed in an esports tournament, necessitating the introduction of dedicated player handlers to assist with logistics and professional development.
- Gonna Need Milk, the primary partner, reports that the Milk Cup has successfully increased positive brand sentiment among teens, demonstrating a measurable marketing lift from sponsoring grassroots esports initiatives.
Major ALGS Open Partners Announced
The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) has secured a roster of high-profile corporate partners for its ALGS Open tournament, scheduled for May 1–4, 2025, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
- The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Open is taking place May 1–4, 2025, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
- The tournament features 160 international squads competing for a total prize pool of $1 million USD.
- EA has secured partnerships with Red Bull, Nokia, Alienware, Sony, and Secretlab for the event, though financial terms were not disclosed.
BLAST Partners With Nova Wallet
Tournament operator BLAST has entered into a strategic partnership with Nova Wallet, a mobile cryptocurrency wallet developed by Novasama Technologies.
- Tournament operator BLAST has partnered with crypto wallet provider Nova Wallet for five Counter-Strike 2 esports events throughout 2025.
- The partnership kicks off at the BLAST.tv Austin Major in June, with Nova Wallet serving as the official self-custodial wallet partner for four additional BLAST Premier events: Rivals S1, Bounty S2, Open S2, and Rivals S2.
- The deal includes brand integration for Nova Wallet across BLAST’s on-site event activations, social media channels, and broadcast streams.
Team Vitality Launches RushBee
Paris-based esports organization Team Vitality has officially launched a new marketing agency division, RushBee.
- Paris-based esports organization Team Vitality has launched a new marketing agency division named RushBee to help brands engage with gaming and esports audiences.
- RushBee aims to assist both endemic and non-endemic brands in reaching a global audience of over 3.3 billion Gen Z and Alpha gamers who prioritize social media and content platforms over traditional media.
- The agency is led by François-Xavier Roux, who previously served as Team Vitality’s Head of Content & Activations for nearly six years and spent 14 years at Viacom Networks France.
Automobili Lamborghini Makes a Major Stop at DreamHack Dallas
Automobili Lamborghini has entered into a partnership with the ESL FACEIT Group to establish a significant presence at the DreamHack Dallas event, scheduled for May 23–25, 2025, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Texas.
- Automobili Lamborghini will make its first direct entry into the gaming space as a partner at DreamHack Dallas, scheduled for May 23–25, 2025, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
- The partnership features a 300-square-meter branded booth, marking the first time an automotive brand has maintained a major presence at a DreamHack event.
- Onsite activations include racing simulators, curated esports competitions, and Web3-integrated experiences, such as the display of a Lamborghini Revuelto with a custom in-game interoperable livery.
SONIX Signs Agreement to Acquire RUSH Entertainment AG Assets
SONIX, a Switzerland-based company specializing in low-latency voice technology, has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire the brand and intellectual property of RUSH Entertainment AG.
- SONIX has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the brand and intellectual property of Swiss-based RUSH Entertainment AG.
- The acquisition will merge SONIX’s low-latency voice technology with RUSH’s white-label esports tournament engine to create an all-in-one competitive gaming solution.
- RUSH Entertainment AG has historically operated over 2,500 online tournament events and onboarded more than 300,000 competitive gamers.
Esports World Cup Foundation Launches the Music of EWC
The Esports World Cup Foundation has introduced the "Music of EWC," a strategic initiative designed to establish an original musical identity for the 2025 Esports World Cup.
- The Esports World Cup Foundation has launched 'Music of EWC,' an initiative to establish an original musical identity for the 2025 tournament through professional collaborations and community engagement.
- The Esports World Cup 2025 is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a seven-week period from July 7 to August 24.
- The foundation has partnered with Abbey Road Studios to record four initial tracks composed by 2WEI and Hollywood Scoring.