Q3 2025 was a busy quarter for esports business, with a mix of major deals and symbolically significant moves shaping the industry landscape. Among tournament organizers and operators, Esports World Cup Foundation and Nodwin Gaming stood out, while publishers such as Riot Games with multiple titles and tournament IPs under their belt and the owners of PUBG and PUBG Mobile made notable headlines. On the team side, Fnatic led in the number of deals, whereas Team Vitality closed fewer but higher-profile agreements. The quarter also saw key ownership changes and even shutdown of some organizations. Here’s a comprehensive look at the deals and business developments that defined Q3.
Publishers and tournament organizers
The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) made headlines during the Esports World Cup 2025, the year’s largest esports festival, held in July and August with a total prize pool exceeding $70 million across more than 20 disciplines. This year, EWCF not only welcomed returning partners but also secured new collaborations, showcasing a diverse mix of industries invested in the esports space.
Major partners included PepsiCo (beverages and consumer goods), HONOR (smartphones and consumer electronics), Lenovo Legion (gaming hardware), Hilton (hospitality), Spotify (digital audio streaming), and IMG (sports and talent management). The variety of EWC partnerships reflects a broad spectrum of industries recognizing the value of engaging with esports audiences, from tech and gaming to lifestyle and entertainment.
Beyond sponsorships, EWCF also made strategic moves to strengthen its presence in India, deepening ties with the esports club S8UL and publishers of Battlegrounds Mobile India, signaling a targeted push into one of the fastest-growing esports markets in the world. Thus EWCF continues to solidify its position as a central hub for esports business, creating opportunities across disciplines, platforms and regions.
Riot Games made a series of high-profile moves this quarter, underscoring its growing esports footprint. Together with Tencent, the publisher announced an investment of around $200 million to support Valorant Mobile esports in China, ahead of the game’s August launch.
The company also unveiled new partnerships across its major League of Legends circuits during the regional split finals, including ExpressVPN and Euronics Group for the LEC and South Korean crypto exchange Upbit for the LCK.
Beyond esports, Riot has begun promotional activations for its upcoming title, 2XKO, currently in beta and expected to launch before the end of 2025, as the company continues to push into both competitive and entertainment-driven gaming.
PUBG and PUBG Mobile made several notable moves this quarter, reinforcing their presence in both esports and broader gaming culture. KRAFTON, the developer behind PUBG Mobile, launched the Next Star Global Creator Recruitment program, a $6 million initiative aimed at supporting and spotlighting content creators across eight regions.
The franchise also expanded its cultural footprint through high-profile collaborations. PUBG teamed up with Korean music icon G-DRAGON for his first gaming project, introducing in-game content and special events across PUBG and PUBG Mobile. Meanwhile, PUBG Mobile partnered with Lotus Cars, bringing the luxury automaker’s Emira and Emeya models into the game through vehicles, skins, and accessories.
Als, in a surprising pop-culture crossover, KRAFTON also collaborated with the Skibidi Toilet brand, rolling out themed events and rewards across PUBG Mobile and PUBG: Battlegrounds, bringing a touch of whimsy to the battle royale.
Nodwin Gaming made strategic moves this quarter that highlight its growing influence in global esports. The company acquired Sony’s stake in the Evolution Championship Series (Evo), becoming the tournament’s majority shareholder alongside RTS. While Sony exits its ownership role, it remains involved as a global sponsor through 2028.
In September, Nodwin also partnered with Tesla to host BGMS Season 4, marking the electric carmaker’s first collaboration with an Indian esports tournament and underscoring the growing appeal of esports as a platform for global brands.
At the same time, Sony strengthened its broader entertainment portfolio by acquiring a 2.5% equity stake in Bandai Namco, a strategic alliance designed to expand the reach of Bandai Namco’s franchises across anime, manga, and live entertainment.
Among other deals:
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DreamHack and Nintendo renewed their partnership to extend their collaboration into DreamHack Stockholm 2025, strengthening Nintendo’s presence at one of Europe’s largest gaming festivals.
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ASUS ROG and BLAST Premier teamed up to make ASUS the official monitor, PC, laptop, and peripherals partner for the final three events of the 2025 CS2 season, supporting top-tier competitive Counter-Strike.
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Red Bull and The Tetris Company partnered to launch the first global Tetris esports tournament, featuring in-game power-ups and a Global Final set for December 11–13 at Dubai Frame.
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The Pokémon Company and PlayVS joined forces to bring Pokémon UNITE to scholastic esports leagues, introducing the franchise to middle and high school competition for the first time.
Esports teams and organizations
Among teams, Fnatic led the way in Q3 2025 when it came to new partnerships and extensions, strengthening its brand across content, hardware and esports apparel. The organization teamed up with:
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DLSM to launch trading-themed content and merchandise, blending esports culture with the broader collectibles space.
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Sony’s INZONE brand, unifying gaming headsets and monitors while keeping players and content creators closely involved in product development.
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Fulllife (who also signed with Heretics in September) to provide professional esports apparel for its teams.
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Skinrave.gg as the Counter-Strike team’s official skin case-opening partner.
While Team Vitality closed fewer deals than some competitors this quarter, the ones it did announce were high-profile and strategically significant. The club partnered with Stake, a leading cryptocurrency-based online betting and casino operator, becoming the official partner of its Counter-Strike roster. In September, Team Vitality also made headlines by joining forces with PSG Esports to launch PSG.Vitality in EA Sports FC. The collaboration drew attention not just for its competitive potential, but for the sheer prominence of the brands involved, uniting two of the most recognizable names in French esports and traditional sports.
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Danish esports team ECSTATIC has made a bold move in a gambling-heavy industry by partnering with anti-gambling app Gamban, the first deal of its kind in esports. The partnership sends a strong message about fan protection and responsible engagement, positioning the team as a pioneer for more conscious gambling practices in the competitive gaming sphere.
North America saw notable business moves from FaZe Clan this quarter. Their parent company GameSquare Holdings partnered with Animecoin Foundation to expand the crypto’s presence in gaming, taking a sizable stake in Animecoin and securing branding on FaZe Esports jerseys. In addition, the team extended its partnership with Rollbit through a $3.25 million agreement, reinforcing jersey branding and strengthening support for its Counter-Strike roster.
Over in Asia, Talon Esports announced two key partnership moves this quarter. The organization named SteelSeries as the official gaming peripherals partner for its League of Legends roster, reinforcing its commitment to top-tier competitive performance. At the same time, the club also renewed its collaboration with Visa, expanding the partnership to support all its Southeast Asian rosters, beyond the previous focus on Arena of Valor and Dota 2 teams.
Q3 2025 also saw several notable shifts in esports ownership. Vertiqal Studios acquired Luminosity Gaming, aiming to expand its esports and content creation portfolio and strengthen its presence across competitive and media spaces. Meanwhile, Astralis was acquired by Fusion Esports Group, a Danish investor consortium led by the organization’s co-founder and the former COO of Ninjas in Pyjamas, marking a significant step in the team’s long-term strategic development. Yet, not all Q3 moves were expansions or acquisitions. Guild Esports announced its shutdown this quarter, citing financial challenges; an insolvency listing marked a notable exit in the esports business landscape.
Rounding out notable Q3 developments, Gen.G strengthened its ties to the city of Manchester, building on its long-standing relationship not just with Manchester City Football Club, but with the city as a whole. In October, the organization partnered with Manchester University to launch an esports practicum abroad program.
Other
Beyond the occasional one-off deal seen from other major players, analytics firm GRID stood out for its high level of activity in Q3, executing multiple significant initiatives. The company signed a multi-year partnership with ESL FACEIT Group to provide official data infrastructure and distribution for all CS2 and Dota 2 tournaments, including marquee events like IEM and the ESL Pro League. GRID also teamed up with Ninja Kiwi to integrate in-game data into Legion TD 2, expanding its footprint in game analytics. Additionally, GRID acquired the IP assets of Bayes Esports, bringing Bayes’ data trading, prediction models, and fan engagement tools into its GRID Bet platform.
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