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W7M esports and Fluxo, two large electronic sports organizations in Brazil, announced this Tuesday (9) the merger of their operations, creating Fluxo W7M. The movement joins the acquisition, by Spun Media, of MIBR, another Brazilian digital modalities team.
According to the announcement of the merger, the two companies, together, will be able to optimize the competition for titles in games such as “League of Legends”, “Free Fire” and “Tom Clancy’s: Rainbow Six Siege”. It also mentions the expansion of sponsorship possibilities, with joint projects and greater presence in the modalities.
The agreement, and also the acquisition of Spun Media, reveal that the winter in which the esports sector is going through has an impact on the business model of organizations that compete for championships and titles. With less sponsorship and, consequently, revenue, the solution is to reduce size or join forces.
The esports sector has been going through difficulties in the face of a new moment in the economy and in companies’ investment choices in sponsorship.
If during the pandemic the gaming championship market experienced an increase in attention and support, now this market dwindles with the migration of advertising back to more traditional and safer modalities, such as football and basketball.
This change also led to the aggregation or rescheduling of teams and competitions. On the list is the “Overwatch” championship, for example, which was restructured by Activision Blizzard, and the layoffs at Twitch, famous for broadcasting these tournaments. The esports Olympic Games, which were scheduled to take place in 2027, were also cancelled.
Less sponsorship, fewer spectators, fewer players — hence the need to merge teams. A sector that was previously extremely hot now needs to undergo adjustments to its business model to stay alive. And this involves regrouping in organizations in this market.
The case of W7M and Fluxo also illustrates this. The companies cite, in their merger announcement, the combination of competitiveness and structure, governance and management excellence. The eventual administrative rationalization, aiming for greater efficiency in operations, is indicative of the need to cut excesses and reprogram the teams’ daily routine.
When looking at the case of Spun and MIBR, something similar: the need to create a larger esports ecosystem, in Latin America, to give the team momentum. Hence the creation of Ezor, an electronic sports media and content platform.
Ezor also incorporates LOS, another esports team that Spun Media purchased last year to strengthen its presence in the sector. The brands will continue to operate individually, even if grouped together in the same group.
Spun’s chief executive, João Pedro Manetti, one of Ezor’s managers, told Valor Econômico that “the idea is to provide security for companies, especially in times of market downturn. As we are a solid group, we can support the ecosystem”. The acquisition was accompanied by R$100 million in investments in infrastructure, new teams and the search for new markets in games.
The chief executive of W7M, Felipe Funari, says the same about the merger with Fluxo. “In a market increasingly challenged to create new recipes, models and sources of sustainability, this union demonstrates the potential of how commercial strength, combined with scale and community power, can elevate an organization to a new level, both in terms of audience, performance, business and global relevance”, he reiterated.
He and Alex Watanabe, director of operations at Fluxo, highlighted that the transformation model for Fluxo W7M is different from that chosen by Spun, stating that the focus on a single brand guarantees strategic alignment, clarity and a unified vision for the team’s future in esports.
It is clear that changes in the market are a determining factor for the operation. Aggregation is the way found to maintain the existence of brands considered strong in electronic sports, which can also make it difficult to create new teams — these will have even more difficulty finding sponsorship.
The fact is that this balance in the digital modalities market has not yet been achieved, and there is a lot of water left to roll.
Play
game tip, new or old, for you to try
Victoria 3
(PC, macOS, steamOS)
This is an excellent game for enthusiasts in politics, economics and diplomacy. The title from Paradox Development Studio covers the period from 1836 to 1936 and the social changes from the 19th to the 20th century. As the leader of a country, the player must command the population amid a series of risks, crises and changes that affect the development of the region to be managed. This does not mean linearity: it is possible to choose to make the nation agrarian or industrial, rich or poor, pacifist in international relations or expansionist. In addition to its graphic beauty, the game’s strengths are the density of economic and diplomatic factors.
Update
news, launches, business and what matters most
- Netflix, which announced last week the acquisition of studio Warner Bros. Discovery, considered buying EA (Electronic Arts) before the purchase of the gaming company by the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Fund. According to Bloomberg, executives at the streaming giant also considered making offers to companies like Fox and Disney. The debates were then suspended due to fear, among Netflix management, that the interest in acquiring new companies would harm investors’ confidence in the platform.
- The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that EA will be 93.4% controlled by Saudi Arabia, if the deal announced at the end of September is approved by American regulatory bodies. In addition to the Sovereign Fund, the investment funds Silver Lake and Afinity Partners are in the business, which will have stakes of 5.5% and 1.1% of the company, respectively. According to the newspaper, the company’s transfer to a foreign country has angered American senators, who cite a risk to United States sovereignty.
- Between December 16th and January 31st of next year, Rio de Janeiro City Hall will open a public consultation for notices of the 2025 Carioca Audiovisual Promotion Program. The investment in games will be R$ 1.5 million for distribution in projects for the development of playable prototypes, game production and distribution of already produced titles. The games were included for the first time in notices from the Rio Executive in 2022, and Sebrae (Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses) classified the city as the best to invest in games.
- “Roblox” was blocked in Russia last Wednesday (3) under accusations of distributing extremist material. The Russian government also argued that the game promotes what it called “LGBT propaganda”. The country’s communications body argued that the title was “full of inappropriate content, which may negatively impact children’s spiritual and moral development.” The game’s spokesperson stated that local laws and regulations are respected, and that the game offers a positive space for its users to learn.
- Given the price increase in the Xbox line this year, Microsoft is considering moving part of the production of its consoles to Vietnam. According to Reuters, the company is expected to expand video game manufacturing in the country through Foxconn and its subsidiary Fushan Technology. The agreement would lead to 4.8 million units of the Xbox Series X|S in Vietnamese lands, in addition to controls, accessories and other products linked to the company. Device prices have been affected by the trade dispute between the United States and China and the shortage of DRAM memories and SSDs on the world market.
- The Memorial da América Latina will host the eSports Brasil 2025 Award ceremony on December 18th. The event, which has been taking place since 2017, brings together categories with voting evaluated by a jury, mixed between the jurors and the public and only with the public. Among the games with categories are “Counter Strike”, “Fortnite”, “Free Fire”, “Tom Clancy’s: Rainbow Six Siege”, “Valorant” and “League of Legends”. The public can still vote for the categories on the event’s official website.
Download
games that will be launched in the next few days and promotions that are worth it
8.dez
“Frostpunk 2: Fractured Utopias” (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
“Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024” (PS5)
“Skate Story” (Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5)
“Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut” (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
“Yakuza Kiwami 1 e 2” (PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
9.dez
“Death Howl” (PC)
“Thank Goodness You’re Here!” (Xbox Series X|S)
“Unbeatable” (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
10.dez
“Anxiety Puppy” (PC)
“Mutant Football League 2” (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
“Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension” (Nintendo Switch, Switch 2)
“The End of History” (PC)
11.dez
“Ashes of Creation” (PC)
“Dunjungle” (Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
“Star Trek: Infection” (Meta Quest 3, Steam VR)
“Warhammer 40.000 Rogue Trader” (Nintendo Switch 2)
12.dez
“Everdream Village” (PC)
“Terminator 2D No Fate” (Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
