posted by Malystryx.GDS,
In an incredible move that we could be looking back on in years to come, Twitch leapt even further into the esports realm with the purchase of the GoodGame Agency, the company behind Evil Geniuses and Alliance, owned by Alex Garfield. The decision to sell his company comes after a decade of hardwork and could have huge repercussions on the eSports scene.


“GoodGame has an amazing reputation in the industry for its expertise in both sponsorship sales and talent support. Their passion for helping content creators and pro players achieve success has elevated the entire industry in the minds of brands worldwide,” said Kevin Lin, COO of Twitch in the press release. “GoodGame was a natural fit for Twitch because of our shared experience in creating compelling monetization opportunities for content partners and helping sponsors get the most out of their investments. We have worked with GoodGame CEO Alexander Garfield for several years, and there is a clear opportunity for him to bring his skills and experiences to many more of our partners.”

Alex Garfield is a legend within the eSports scene, and the Evil Geniuses brand which he helped to create has enjoyed incredible success in multiple eSports titles such as Warcraft 3, Starcraft 2 and Counter-Strike 1.6. Over the last couple of years Alliance is another brand that has been built from the ground up, with Team Tinker the most recent project. "Our company’s profits have never gone into our management’s pockets - we’ve always re-invested everything back into our teams, players, tournaments, and other projects - and there hasn’t been a single moment in our ten-year history at which a player wasn’t the highest-paid person in the company. That’s the truth. No hidden management bonuses, no Swiss bank accounts, no bullshit.

Tweet from EG's globally known Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson
"

Now with the sale of GoodGame Agency to Twitch, it is not only the management who will benefit, but everyone officially involved in the agency according to the CEO. "We’ve reserved a portion of the transaction (Twitch) for a player pool, which means that every player currently contracted with GoodGame will receive a small portion of the company’s sale," said Alex Garfield, CEO of GoodGame Agency in his official post. "And as an Amazon subsidiary, we’ll also be able to offer our players other additional benefits to which they didn’t previously have access."

Read Alex Garfield's full letter


"I believe in Twitch - I really do.  They’re great at what they do, they understand esports, and they genuinely care about making sure the community grows in the right way.  To use an industry meme: they get it.  What’s kind of interesting about this acquisition is that it doesn't really change our business at all - our players were already streaming on Twitch because we felt it was the best platform to be on (not a hard argument to make these days)."

"(...)It’s a good deal for everyone involved. And while I’d be lying to you guys if I said that the level of support didn’t factor into my decision, I’d be lying just as much if I told you that the support alone would’ve been enough. Don’t get me wrong, the financial security doesn’t hurt. But I didn’t put ten years of my life into this company - and this industry - only to sell my soul in public for a couple of bucks."

Alex Garfield joined Evil Geniuses initially as a volunteer to do coverage back in 2004, before becoming the manager of the Counter-Strike team after a rough patch. "The players were faced with what was back then an all-too-common problem: their manager had disappeared along with the team’s sponsorship money, and they would have to disband unless new sponsors were found. I offered to help, and the players agreed to stay together if the support was there."

"I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past ten years. We’ve had the privilege of signing some incredible players and teams, and we’ve also had a lot of fun making those announcements (and announcements of announcements); we’ve brought home championships in just about every major esports title; and in the past five years alone (since esports really started to pick up), we’ve been responsible for funneling more than $10 million toward players, teams, tournaments, and other parts of the esports ecosystem."

What impact do YOU think this will have?

Comments