The Most Valuable Esports Companies 2020

Video games might be all the rage during the pandemic, but pro video game teams are not. After a red hot 2018, valuations have flatlined, investors have cooled and companies are scrambling to reboot.

Video games might be all the rage during the pandemic, but pro video game teams are not.

A year ago, esports companies – which play competitive versions of games like Fortnite and Call of Duty, sometimes in front of crowds of 40,000 or more — were gushing about war chests, oversubscribed funding rounds, celebrity investors like Drake, Stephen Curry and Jennifer Lopez, and a future that would see gaming teams eclipsing NFL teams in monetary value.

That bravado has been tamed. The average value of the top 10 teams flatlined at $240 million in 2020, following a 54% rise in 2019, according to our exclusive annual ranking of the Most Valuable Esports Companies. Industry-wide revenue, which was expected to jump 16% to $1.1 billion in 2020, instead fell $150 million after the pandemic cancelled most live events, according to industry research group Newzoo. A lack of stadium-packing tournaments had knock-on effects on merchandise sales, as well as forfeited media rights and sponsorships.

“We’re starting to see valuations become more in line with realities,” says Bobby Sharma, an investment adviser for NY-based esports advisory firm Electronic Sports Group.

Plateauing values are leading early investors, including many venture capitalists, who according to Pitchbook have poured $4.8 billion into esports over the past five years, to put the pressure on companies to make money. Seeking to broaden their appeal, esports companies are now morphing into broader entertainment companies.

“The modern battlefield in gaming is for larger social media and YouTube talent,” says John Robinson, COO of 100 Thieves, a Los Angeles-based game outfit, which owns franchise teams competing in League of Legends and Call of Duty.

But the pivot comes at a cost, as investors have shredded the multiples they are willing to pay for competitive teams while valuing the newer businesses at even less.

Topping the list: Los Angeles-based Team SoloMid with a value of $410 million. The company added to its seven-time North American championship League of Legends team by acquiring Blitz last year. The ad-supported app, which has 10 million active monthly users and offers playing analysis and training sessions, now accounts for half of the company’s $45 million in revenue. In second is Cloud 9 also LA-based, valued at $350 million, down 13% from 2019.

100 Thieves, valued at $190 million, jumped to the fifth spot on our list from number 10 in 2019. The company, founded by former Call of Duty champion Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag, 28, expects to make $16 million in revenue this year, a leap of 60%. Most of the the company’s revenue has occurred outside of competitive play.

In January the company opened a 15,000 square foot training facility and production studio and in October signed with talent agency CAA for help getting its content distributed to mainstream platforms like Netflix and Amazon. 100 Thieves is also dipping its toes into traditional sports, signing YouTube stars 2Hype in November, who have amassed a following of 18 million subscribers through their basketball-themed challenge videos.

It’s a page borrowed from FaZe Clan’s playbook. The Los Angeles-based company generates 80% of its $40 million in revenue focusing on creating videos around gaming culture and its stars. FaZe’s line-up includes Nickmercs, one of the most popular gamers on Twitch and highest-paid in the industry, earning $6 million last year. FaZe now boasts over 230 million followers across all its related social platforms and is worth $305 million to rank No. 4.

“What you have seen in the last year is other esports companies are catching on to what has been our philosophy from day one, which is to explore the outer reaches of what gaming can be,” said FaZe Clan’s CEO Lee Trink.

But the losers outweighed the winners this year. Among the hardest hit was Immortals Gaming Club, another Los Angeles-based group which fell off the list because of a singular focus on competitive gaming. Over two years, IGC paid $58 million for city-based teams that compete in each of the three major franchise leagues: Call of Duty (CDL), League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) and Overwatch (OWL). Live event cancellations hit revenue by 23% and it began unloading teams.

Last month it sold its CDL franchise to 100 Thieves and its OpTic Gaming brand name, worth $10 million by Forbes estimates, to its original creator and now NRG co-CEO Hector ‘HECZ’ Rodriguez to use for that company’s Chicago-based CDL franchise. It is now reportedly shopping its OWL franchise. With revenue expected to fall to $8.5 million this year, the team’s value is less than half the $260 million Forbes estimated in 2019.

“Many esports companies raised capital based on inflated expectations of how the market will come together, particularly in the U.S.,” said Jens Hilgers, founding general partner of esports investor Bitkraft Ventures and co-owner of Berlin, Germany-based G2, ranked No. 7 at $175 million, up 6 %. “Now some of those companies have to play catch up with those expectations.”

“If your goal is just to be the Dallas Cowboys, that is cool, but it’s a long way off.”

It’s an industry-wide reckoning that esports investment adviser Sharma says will trim the weak, empower the strong and open up “very meaningful opportunities and upside.”

Revenue flatlined at Los Angeles-based NRG after its CDL and OWL teams had to cancel ticketed in-person events and stage them online for free. Some of the gap was filled with its higher-margin, online content business, including sponsored streams on Twitch and videos on YouTube. Last month the company opened The Castle, a fun-house, a gamers version of a fraternity house, and production studio to churn out digital content that can be sold to sponsors. NRG is worth an estimated $155 million this year, up 3%.

“If your goal is just to be the Dallas Cowboys and just operate in competitive gaming, that is cool, but it’s a long way off,” said Andy Miller, CEO of NRG and co-owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. “There’s not going to be one thing in gaming making you money.”

METHODOLOGY

To compile our ranking, Forbes spoke to two dozen esports organizations, investors, advisors to investors, and analysts. Revenue figures in our table represent an estimate for 2020 and are separated into competitive gaming and related businesses, based on information provided by the companies. Different multiples are used for each. Earlier rankings relied on capital raises and asset sales, which were limited in 2020; The sole major transaction was the sale of IGC’s CDL franchise to 100 Thieves at cost.

Enthusiast Gaming is ranked for the first time. In August the company acquired Omnia Media and expanded its reach to a total of 300 million gamers monthly, making it the largest gaming media platform in North America. The company reported it is expected to make $95 million in revenue this year, which includes $61 million in ad share revenue that is contractually obligated to be paid to its content creators. Esports revenue makes up only 6% of revenue. To account for market fluctuations we used an average enterprise value between September 1 and December 1 to account for market fluctuations, and value the company at $180 million to rank No. 7 on the list. By Forbes calculations, excluding ad share revenue paid to talent — a figure other companies on the list reported was excluded from their revenue — the company is worth 5.5 times revenue. All others in the ranking are private companies.

THE MOST VALUABLE ESPORTS COMPANIES

1. Team SoloMid

Value: $410 million         

1-year Change: 3%          

Estimated Revenue: $45 million

Revenue from Esports: 50%

Franchise Teams: LCS – TSM

Non-franchise Teams: Apex Legends, Fortnite, Icon Influencers, Magic the Gathering, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow 6, Super Smash Bros, Team Fight Tactics, Valorant

Owner: Andy Dinh

2. Cloud9            

Value: $350 million         

1-year Change: -13%      

Estimated Revenue: $30 million

Revenue from Esports: 70%

Franchise Teams: LCS – Cloud9, OWL – London Spitfire

Non-franchise Teams: CS:GO, Fortnite, Halo, Hearthstone, Rainbow 6, Super Smash Bros, Teamfight Tactics, Valorant, World of Warcraft

Owner: Jack and Paullie Etienne

3. Team Liquid  

Value: $310 million         

1-year Change: -3%        

Estimated Revenue: $28 million

Revenue from Esports: 89%

Franchise Teams: LCS – Team Liquid

Non-franchise Teams: CS:GO, Dota 2, Fortnite, Hearthstone, PUBG, Rainbow 6, Super Smash Bros, StarCraft II, Valorant

Owner: aXiomatic Gaming

4. FaZe Clan       

Value: $305 million         

1-year Change: 27%        

Estimated Revenue: $40 million

Revenue from Esports: 20%

Franchise Teams: CDL – Atlanta FaZe

Non-franchise Teams: CS:GO, FIFA, Fortnite, PUBG, Rainbow 6, Valorant

Owner: Lee Trink, Richard Bengston (FaZe Banks), Thomas Oliveira (FaZe Temperrr), Yousef Abdelfattah (FaZe Apex), Nordan Shat (FaZe Rain)

5. 100 Thieves  

Value: $190 million         

1-year Change: 19%        

Estimated Revenue: $16 million

Revenue from Esports: 35%

Franchise Teams: LCS – 100 Thieves, CDL – Los Angeles Thieves

Non-franchise Teams: Fortnite, Valorant

Owner: Matthew Haag, Drake, Scooter Braun, Dan Gilbert

6. Gen.G             

Value: $185 million         

1-year Change: 0%          

Estimated Revenue: $14 million

Revenue from Esports: 75%

Franchise Teams: LCK – Gen.G, NBA 2K League -Shanghai, OWL – Seoul Dynasty

Non-franchise Teams: Fortnite (Team Bumble), Overwatch Contenders, PUBG, Valorant

Owner: Kevin Chou, Battery Ventures, Canaan Partners, NEA, Will Smith

7. Enthusiast Gaming     

Value: $180 million         

1-year Change: NR          

Estimated Revenue: $95 million

Revenue from Esports: 6%

Franchise Teams: CDL – Seattle Surge, OWL – Vancouver Titans

Non-franchise Teams: Apex, Fortnite, Madden, Valorant

Owner: Public company (TSX: EGLX)

8. G2 Esports    

Value: $175 million         

1-year Change: 6%          

Estimated Revenue: $19 million

Revenue from Esports: 80%

Franchise Teams: League of Legends European Championship – G2

Non-franchise Teams: CS:GO, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Rainbow 6, Rocket League, Sim Racing Valorant

Owner: Carlos Rodriguez, Jens Hilgers, Bluepool

9. NRG Esports 

Value: $155 million         

1-year Change: 3%          

Estimated Revenue: $20 million

Revenue from Esports: 25%

Franchise Teams: CDL – OpTic Chicago, OWL – San Francisco Shock

Non-franchise Teams: Apex Legends, Fortnite, Rocket League, Valorant

Owner: Andy Miller, Mark Mastrov

10. T1   

Value: $150 million         

1-year Change: NR          

Estimated Revenue: $15 million

Revenue from Esports: 60%

Franchise Teams: League of Legends Champions Korea – T1

Non-franchise Teams: Apex Legends, Dota 2, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Overwatch Contenders, PUBG

Owner: Comcast Spectacor, SK Telecom

^{Sources: Company executives, investors, investment advisors, public documents.}

^{Revenue is an estimate for 2020.}

^{N/R: Not ranked last year.}