Why ESL FaceIt is still bullish on esports for the long term | The DeanBeat

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A year and a half ago, Savvy Gaming Group formed and acquired esports platforms ESL and FaceIt in hopes of creating an esports powerhouse. Then Savvy, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, also picked up a part of Vindex focused esports data and production.

At Gamescom, I met with Ralf Reichert, chairman of ESL FaceIt Group (EFG), and Michele Attisani, head of business development.

They’re still bullish on esports even though it has had a hard time living up to the hype of five years ago when many assumed it would be a short time before esports surpassed traditional sports on all levels. But the economy hit the brakes and the esports industry has adjusted to a new reality, with the media rights part of esports “stuttering,” Reichert said.

Since that time, the appetite for livestreaming gaming content fallen from the peaks during the pandemic. Ad budgets were slashed during the global economic downturn. The esports organizations and creators in the space faced headwinds, as our writer Jordan Fragen pointed out. While FaZe Clan prepared to go public in October 2021, the markets for such deals fell apart and media rights deals fell by the wayside.

There are additional headwinds on the political front, as Savvy and ESL FaceIt are owned by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who was accused of orchestrating the murder of Washington Post