Ford finds community with Rocket League

 

A tweet from OverActive Media co-founder Adam Adamou has been living rent-free in my head all week. He sees three esports hubs taking shape in North America, and one of them is in Toronto. With OverActive hosting Majors for both Call of Duty and Overwatch this year, I can see his point. — Jason Wilson

A return to live esports events allowed reps from Ford recently to be on the ground for the first time at a Rocket League Championship Series. Execs from the auto brand made their way to Texas to take advantage of not only the opportunity to highlight the Bronco Raptor 1 edition but also get valuable insights into community-building at a top-level competition.

During the event at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Ford showcased its top-of-the-line SUV model to attendees (the model was also featured in the game). The brand also did a broadcast segment with Ford influencers. “It was bigger and had a higher energy level than I would’ve thought,” Ford Marketing Manager Sarah Brewer told Sports Business Journal. “I had the misconception that it would be a quieter, calmer group (than traditional sports fans). It felt the same as any big sports event.”

Ford has been a sponsor of Psyonix, the game’s publisher, since 2019. Brewer said Ford was interested in deeper partnerships with racing games, going beyond sim racing (something that a unique car-driven game like Rocket League can provide). The F-150 was the first production-model car in Rocket League.

Brewer noted the importance of community that came with the RLCS. She saw internet friends meeting in-person for the first time, mixing with players and others. Brewer says such connection is something Ford wants to be a part of, and dovetails with community-building projects like its “Off-Roadeo” initiative.

“Ford is a brand, and as much as it is about products, we also want to provide experiences, like the Off-Roadeo,” she said. “We want to be the brand of a welcoming community, how to show up in a community that adds value. There’s nothing like seeing our products in person.” The Off-Roadeo effort shows owners how to take advantage of the Bronco’s off-roading capabilities. Ford runs four Off-Roadeos across the country (Grey Horse Ranch in Horseshoe Bay, Texas; Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, Utah; Mt. Potosi in Las Vegas; and Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, N.H.). — Jason Wilson

The Ford Bronco Raptor looks pretty snazzy in Rocket League

Competitive video gaming has been the dominion of 2D animated pixels to date, but game maker Aexlab, with its Vail title, is out to show that the VR space is ripe for esports competition. “I know people have been saying this for decades, but I really think [VR gaming] about to explode,” said Jonathan Ovadia, the CEO and founder of Aexlab.

Ovadia isn’t the only one bullish on the possibilities. Aexlab has been able to raise over $12 million since March 2021 through crowdfunding and other ventures, including a $5 million raise on a $100 million cap convertible note from investors such as Valor Equity Partners, Dacra, Subversive Capital, Hartmann Capital and Fuel Venture Capital. The money enabled Aexlab to scale its team and make Vail a viable esports title.

“The virtual reality esports ecosystem is my No. 1 priority at the moment,” said Ovadia. “Our philosophy is, if we can make a game that competitive players can feel confident investing thousands of hours into, sponsors can invest money into the net code.”

Vail, now in its testing phase on Steam, already has a $35,000 tournament that has 195 teams competing. Right now, teams are battling it out for a chance to attend the LAN finals of the Miami Vail Major on Oct. 1. “This is the biggest VR esport event since Facebook and ESL’s VR Challenger League in 2018,” said Ovadia. “In the VR world, this is a massive deal. This is a rebirth” — Kevin Hitt

Vail is attempting to establish itself as a leading VR esports title

Esports teams are making their way into the celebrity boxing matches. The latest is FaZe Temperr, co-founder and CEO of FaZe Clan, who fought Slim Albaher in the “KSI: 2 fights, 1 night” event Saturday in London. Albaher knocked out Temperr in the second round.

This isn’t Temperr’s first fight. He beat King Kenny by a decision in March as a part of a Showstar Boxing event, which was rescored for a Temperr win days after the fight.

Influencers in gaming and entertainment are flocking to premier boxing cards. Jake Paul, KSI and Temperr are well-suited to such fights, which feature relentless media coverage of training regimens and soundbites full of boasting and bravado.

The KSI event, which DAZN streamed, had 20,000 live viewers and an unknown pay-per-view audience, according to a FaZe Clan spokesperson. Ghost Energy made an appearance as a personal sponsorship for Temperr. — Hunter Cooke


VIDEO: Click to listen to FaZe Temperr talk about his fight … and then watch what happened

FaZe Clan


  • The Rangers are holding an OpTic Gaming Night when the Angels visit Globe Life Field on Sept. 20. CEO Hector “Hecz” Rodriguez and Seth “Scump” Abner of OpTic’s Call of Duty League team are throwing out the first pitch. A special ticket package includes an OpTic-branded Texas Rangers jersey and an autograph signing with Hecz and Scump.
  • Cleveland State University Esports’ new home is the Lair of the Cavs Legion Gaming Club, the NBA 2K League affiliate of the Cavaliers.



  • Sony announced a new push into mobile gaming with its PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which will operate independently of the console business. It also said it acquired Savage Games Studios, a mobile dev house that hasn’t made any games yet.
  • Tencent and Sony now own a 30% stake in FromSoftware’s parent company. FromSoftware’s Elden Ring title is the biggest hit in gaming so far this year.
  • Wisdom Gaming is holding a College Night watch party for the League of Legends postseason Sept. 10-11. One of the ideas behind Wisdom’s new studio facility in the Mall of America is to host community events like this.
  • Riot Games announced the cast for the “Ruination” audio book, featuring numerous League of Legends voice actors. Misty Lee (Kalista), Mark Oliver (Thresh) and Sean J. Teale (Viego) reprise their in-game roles. The book debuts Sept. 13, showing how Riot continues to evolve from a gaming juggernaut into a multimedia company.
  • Esports competition platform Faceit made a couple of moves this week, partnering with a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform Infosum and Team Vitality in order to launch new gaming initiatives, including a hub for French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players.
  • Retired star Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert, ESL Pro League commissioner Alex Inglot, and Fnatic chief gaming officer Patrik Sättermon reflect on CS:GO’s 10th anniversary.

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