Following a rollercoaster year that brought extreme lows (in the form of plummeting share prices) and affirming highs, evidenced in their recent victory at Thunderpick World Championships, the US-based eSports team FaZe Clan has been handed a much-needed lifeline from GameSquare Holdings Inc. The Texas-based digital media and entertainment powerhouse, backed by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, has bought FaZe in an all-stock deal that eSports analysts predict will bring the struggling influencer and gaming brand back to the top of its game in 2024.
FaZe: The Story So Far
Although pro gaming only started to achieve mainstream popularity in around 2015, FaZe Clan was founded in May 2010. Then known as FaZe Sniping, the eSports team specialized in FPS eSports titles, the most prominent of which was Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty series. As the decade progressed, the team expanded its roster by welcoming pro gamers from across the world and branched out into competing in over ten different games, including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, VALORANT, Fortnite Battle Royale, and Rocket League.
The professional gaming team is most notably recognized for its presence in the Counter-Strike 2 scenes, where it laid claim to numerous titles and large winnings. Their most recent major win was at the 2023 Thunderpick World Championships — https://thunderpick.io/world-championship/, an innovative new CS: GO tournament that offered a guaranteed $600,000 prize pool paid in BTC. During the finals held earlier this November, FaZe saw off Virtus. pro 2 to 0 to claim the grand prize.
A Tumultuous Year
2023 may now be ending on a high note for Faze Clan, but the past 15 months have been anything but. Back in July 2022, the organization made a public offering and was valued at $400 million. However, within less than a year, circumstances began to change for the worse.
In May 2023, 40% of its workforce was laid off, while accusations of discrimination within the ranks followed just a couple of months later. This combined chaos saw share prices plummet from an all-time high of $24.69 (in August 2022) to just $0.18, while September saw the departure of former CEO Lee Trink.
Despite these considerable issues, the team still possesses a huge amount of value in the eSports realm — hence GameSquare’s interest in the brand. According to data specialists GEEIQ, Faze has a global social media audience of 260 million, with its fanbase being one of the most dedicated and passionate in the space. It’s widely regarded as a “truly recognized brand in gaming,” so its weakened share price undoubtedly presented an irresistible opportunity to GameSquare.
Enter, GameSquare
GameSquare, itself also a publicly traded firm, is perhaps best known for its association with Jerry Jones, owner of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. While Jones co-owns Complexity Gaming, he’s an active investor in GameSquare and a keen supporter of all things eSports.
According to the joint press release issued earlier this month, the combined companies will have an annual revenue of approximately $138 million and will see the two strands provide “a progressive end-to-end platform of learning media organizations, gaming, and eSports teams.”
GameSquare is predominantly an eSports holding company, with sub-divisions like Ninja Labs and Stream Hatchet already providing marketing and business development services to brands in the industry. Bringing FaZe Clan into the fold is a clear signal that GameSquare is looking to increase its reach in professional competitive gaming and will see the company own approximately 55% of the merged organization.
Positive Days Ahead?
While GameSquare will own most of the company, the rest will be owned by FaZe Clan. What’s more, the return of some familiar faces to the organization’s management team indicates that a return to form will be on the cards for the newly replenished team.
FaZe’s original founders and creators, Richard “FaZe Banks” Bengtson, Thomas “FaZe Temperrr,” and Yousef “FaZe Apex” Abdelfattah, will be making a welcome return to leadership positions. Bengston has been named as CEO, with Oliveira taking on the role of President and Abdelfattah coming in as Chief Operating Officer.
Following the announcement of the news, Bengtson expressed “confidence” in his resurgent team’s ability to get “FaZe Clan…back to where it was in its peak years”. To the new CEO, GameSquare isn’t just swallowing up his beloved gaming brand; it’s a new partner that sees “value” in the existing IP and can bring the tools needed to help the Clan execute its vision for 2024 and beyond.
Testament to FaZe’s standing in the eSports industry is the fact that despite 2023 being one of the most chaotic on record for the brand, it has still successfully partnered with peripherals leaders SteelSeries. FaZe Clan x SteelSeries co-branded products have recently hit the shelves and draw inspiration “from the FaZe Clan multiverse.” The limited-edition collection features the team’s iconic red and black colorway and brings the FaZe logo and camouflage “to life” across products, including the Arctis Nova 7 headset, Aerox 3 Wireless mouse, and the Apex 9 Mini keyboard.
Enter, GameSquare
GameSquare, itself also a publicly traded firm, is perhaps best known for its association with
Jerry Jones, owner of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. While Jones co-owns Complexity
Gaming, he’s an active investor in GameSquare and a keen supporter of all things eSports.
According to the joint press release issued earlier this month, the combined companies will
have an annual revenue of approximately $138 million and will see the two strands provide
“a progressive end-to-end platform of learning media organizations, gaming, and eSports
teams.”
GameSquare is predominantly an eSports holding company, with sub-divisions like Ninja
Labs and Stream Hatchet already providing marketing and business development services
to brands in the industry. Bringing FaZe Clan into the fold is a clear signal that GameSquare
is looking to increase its reach in professional competitive gaming and will see the company
own approximately 55% of the merged organization.
Positive Days Ahead?
While GameSquare will own most of the company, the rest will be owned by FaZe Clan.
What’s more, the return of some familiar faces to the organization’s management team
indicates that a return to form will be on the cards for the newly replenished team.
FaZe’s original founders and creators, Richard “FaZe Banks” Bengtson, Thomas “FaZe
Temperrr,” and Yousef “FaZe Apex” Abdelfattah, will be making a welcome return to
leadership positions. Bengston has been named as CEO, with Oliveira taking on the role of
President and Abdelfattah coming in as Chief Operating Officer.
Following the announcement of the news, Bengtson expressed “confidence” in his resurgent
team’s ability to get “FaZe Clan…back to where it was in its peak years”. To the new CEO,
GameSquare isn’t just swallowing up his beloved gaming brand; it’s a new partner that sees
“value” in the existing IP and can bring the tools needed to help the Clan execute its vision
for 2024 and beyond.
Testament to FaZe’s standing in the eSports industry is the fact that despite 2023 being one
of the most chaotic on record for the brand, it has still successfully partnered with peripherals
leaders SteelSeries. FaZe Clan x SteelSeries co-branded products have recently hit the
shelves and draw inspiration “from the FaZe Clan multiverse.” The limited-edition collection
features the team’s iconic red and black colorway and brings the FaZe logo and camouflage
“to life” across products, including the Arctis Nova 7 headset, Aerox 3 Wireless mouse, and
the Apex 9 Mini keyboard.