Opinion – Esportswashing, a necessary sacrifice towards mainstream?

On January 24 the Saudi Savvy Group casually dropped a bombshell on top of the esport industry as they announced the purchase and merger of ESL/Dreamhack and FACEIT.

Welcome to the Big Boys club

$1 billion Dollar for ESL and another $500 million for FACEIT are sums that are astronomical and show the potential of the industry. Having a new investor (regardless of his background for now) willing to pay that much, is an encouraging sign for an industry that has been struggling with COVID.

Of course the new owners hardly lack money, backed by the Saudi government as they are. Nevertheless the sums paid are significant, even for a country that is sitting on the second largest oil reserves in the world.

Just how big are these numbers? Have a recent example of “traditional” sports for comparision. Current Premier League club Newcastle United was acquired by a consortium led by the same Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) that has now purchased ESL and FACEIT. But back in December they “only” paid roughly $300 million for an 80% stake, a fraction of the deal announced yesterday.

From Sportswashing to Esportswashing

Obviously a governmental fund like the PIF are hardly performing charity work, so why would they purchase such a big stake in esports? If you have been following the bigger sports events of the last couple years, you should be familar with the term sportswashing at this point. Be it sports teams like the Qatar-owned Paris St. Germain or entire events like the upcoming Olympic Winter Games 2022 in Beijing, China. Sports and their events have become a favourite tool to polish up PR and make a good impression.

While there is always pushback against sportswashing, in many cases it does not actually amount to much. Unless the vast majority of the participants and fans reject an event, nothing will happen as neither party is willing to miss out on competition, prize money or entertainment. As you could easily see during the Winter Olympics 2014 in Russia or this years’ upcoming Football World Cup in Qatar.

Now esports is facing a similar dilemma. The new owners have not announced any significant changes yet, but just their ownership is enough to have that discomfort knowing your interest is being abused to produce some nice PR for a government that routinely disregards basic human rights.

Will esports follow the same trajectory as “traditional” sports and put business over morals?

Can and will esports push back?

Esportswashing did not come over us without any warning. Last year’s announced and then cancelled NEOM partnerships of the LEC and BLAST were clearly the precursors of things to come. Back then a large-scale outrage of community and fans were enough to let Riot and BLAST reconsider.

But can that work here? Popular outrage is much smaller than it was during the two aforementioned deals. Of course this being a straight up sale limits the possibilities of fans to meaningfully voice their dissatisfaction, but esports is not entirely without options.

In the end all power in esports, for the better or worse, lies in the hands of the game developers of the respective titles. If they choose so, they could decide to not hand out tournament licenses anymore. But unless every single developer and publisher decides on the nuclear option of cutting off the new ESL FACEIT Group entirely from their circuits, this remains a fantasy. And considering the reluctance of some developers (like Valve) to take direct control, it has to be a very distant fantasy.

So what now?

Considering the growth of the industry, esportswashing becoming a thing is hardly surprising, but it still stings seeing it actually happen before you. So what can we do to counteract it?

Disappointingly there is not much we can do. Voicing concerns within the community and forwarding those to developers and publishers are unfortunately the only ways to do anything. The average fan can only do so much, when a government comes calling, armed with millions upon millions of dollars. An experience that “traditional” sports fans have grown accustomed to over the years and one that we seem doomed to follow.

In the end this might just be the price we have to pay for being part of esports’ journey to mainstream society and its acceptance.

Read more:

• ESL & FACEIT sold for over $1.5 billion
• Activision Blizzard employees concerned about future following Microsoft takeover

What do you think of the deal? Where is esports headed to next? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!

Image Credits: engin akyurt on Unsplash/ESL/FACEIT