In an effort to turn around its brand GameStop announces major esports partnerships
For years now, Grapevine-based GameStop has been trying to find its place in a world where gaming has largely abandoned physical consoles and cartridges for the connectedness of the internet.
On Wednesday, GameStop announced that it is partnering with some of the biggest names in the esports world in the hopes of establishing its brand in the fast-growing industry. This move is meant to turn GameStop into the central location for game enthusiasts and amateur esports players all over the world.
GameStop’s partners include Complexity Gaming, Infinite Esports, Envy Gaming, Matcherino and Collegiate Star League.
The biggest aspect of this partnership means that GameStop will become the title sponsor for Complexity Gaming’s headquarters at The Star in Frisco.
Complexity Gaming is a professional esports organization based out of Dallas. Complexity fields teams for a number of games including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA, Madden and Fortnite. In 2017, Jerry Jones and John Goff became owners of Complexity Gaming, which added further credibility to the esports world.
The new Complexity Gaming headquarters will be called the GameStop Performance Center. At 11,000 square feet, it will feature a public gaming area for fans and sponsors, a training center with data analytics, a video studio and a merchandise wall.
“The opening of the GameStop Performance Center represents Complexity’s vision to further professionalize the esports industry and leverage the learnings from the Dallas Cowboys who also call The Star home,” said Jason Lake, founder and CEO of Complexity Gaming, in a news release. “We are creating a world-class facility that will engage fans both in person and online and positively impact the entire industry for decades to come.”
For GameStop, the performance center will become the hub of its esports endeavors. While the center is a place for Complexity teams to train, it will also be a place for amateur gamers to congregate and learn tips and tricks from professionals.
And if you can’t make it to the performance center, gamers can turn to their nearest GameStop, because the content coming out of the performance center will be broadcast to each of its stores.
“Every GameStop is the cultural stop for gaming in your neighborhood,” said Frank Hamlin, chief marketing officer for GameStop.
Though GameStop is sponsoring Complexity’s new headquarters, Hamlin said the company’s strategy is to remain agnostic in the world of esports and not align itself with any singular esports team. As part of this strategy, GameStop will also partner with Infinite Esports and Envy Gaming to create original content, like gaming clinics for amateur players to participate in live and virtual events.
With Matcherino, the plan is to hold competitions for amateur gamers. GameStop said it will be participating in hundreds of amateur tournaments this year.
And the partnership with Collegiate Star League will lead to new collegiate esports tournaments, both online and on campus.
The announcement today marks the start of GameStop’s transition.
“We’re starting immediately … and we’re signing contracts with these folks,” Hamlin said. “We’re going to hit the ground running.”
In the past five years, GameStop has been facing the same struggles as all brick-and-mortar retailers, but the video game industry has experienced more online disruption than most. Gamers have increasingly turned to the online market for digital copies of games.
To offset its flagging sales, GameStop added more collectibles, used cell phones and other products, but it wasn’t enough to turn around its business model. Last year, the company was even looking for potential buyers, but no one took a bite at the offer.
GameStop closed at $10.35 a share Tuesday. The stock is down 74.5 percent in the past five years.
With this strategic reconfiguration, GameStop is hoping to establish itself as the premier amateur league in esports.
“This is a first step forward in GameStop becoming a point of focus for the video game culture that we so love,” Hamlin said.
This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 4:39 PM.
