LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fnatic, one of the world’s leading global esports brands, today announced a new collaboration with Sansar, the premier destination for social VR: Fnatic Meta BUNKR, a virtual fan hangout designed to enable deeper community engagement. Free to access on PC and VR, the space provides Fnatic fans all over the world a place to gather and connect, host events and meetups, meet popular players and personalities, and earn one-of-a-kind rewards and prizes - ensuring a richer fan experience. Fnatic Meta BUNKR opens to the public today, and will kick off with the Official BUNKR Launch + Watch Party (Oct 11) and Fnatic Trivia (Oct 13), with more events through the end of the 2018 League of Legends Championships (Oct. 1 - Nov. 3).

Through Fnatic Meta BUNKR, Fnatic deepens its commitment to innovation and category-leading community engagement - allowing fans more interactivity during the games they watch, and rewarding fans for their continued support. Since its founding in 2004, the esports powerhouse has continued to set new standards of excellence at every turn - winning thousands of tournaments across 20+ games, the most of any organization - and today serves a global fan base numbering in the tens of millions.

Benoit Pagotto, Marketing Director, Fnatic, says: “As a professional esports organization, Fnatic continues to break the mold from a playing and fan perspective. Just last weekend, we claimed our seventh European League Championship Series title in League of Legends, whilst this collaboration with Sansar is a sign of how we’re always looking to enhance the viewing experience we deliver to our growing community of fans worldwide. There’s no doubt that virtual reality within the world of esports is the future of the sport, so we’re incredibly excited to deliver a more engaging experience to our fans.”

Styled as an intergalactic clubhouse from the future, Fnatic Meta BUNKR will serve as Fnatic’s main virtual venue for community activations and events. Within the space, fans anywhere in the world will be able to stream matches live, meet their favorite players and personalities, and join other fans for virtual events on par with real-life experiences: everything from watch parties and tailgates to player AMAs and meet-and-greets; all they need is a link to the Sansar experience. Additionally, fans will have the chance to unlock exclusive rewards and prizes with every new visit to the space, via daily community challenges, regular scavenger hunts, and ongoing community contests and competitions. Throughout October, for instance, Fnatic will be offering a special punch card program, rewarding the fans that successfully locate hidden Fnatic jerseys in the BUNKR with special virtual and real-life prizes.

Sansar is hardly a stranger to innovative community engagement. Since 2017, the social VR platform has enabled thousands to play, hang, and connect across immersive virtual experiences and events - letting more people in more places hang with their favorite communities, share incredible adventures, and engage their own fans and followers in deeper ways. Through collaborations like Fnatic Meta BUNKR, Sansar is helping modern esports teams enrich and expand the fan experience, giving teams a bold new way to rally their global fan base, deliver cutting-edge content, and gamify the fan experience through unique rewards and giveaways.

“The way we see it, VR is absolutely the future of fan engagement,” says Ebbe Altberg, CEO. “We're letting fans directly interact with the things they love, beyond what traditional spectatorship allows; with Fnatic Meta BUNKR, we're actively empowering Fnatic fans anywhere in the world to reach out and touch pro players themselves, as if they're in the very same room. It's a whole new way to experience esports, and we're thrilled to find such a visionary partner in Fnatic.”

Experience Fnatic Meta BUNKR today, only in Sansar.

For more information about Fnatic, visit www.fnatic.com.

About Fnatic

FNATIC is a leading, global esports organization with professional teams and unrivaled legacy in some of the most popular competitive games, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm and more. Since being founded in 2004 by Sam Mathews, Fnatic teams have claimed multiple international championships including the inaugural League of Legends World Championship, six EU LCS Championships and three separate CS:GO Majors, the only team to have accomplished that. In 2015, Fnatic launched its popular esports equipment line of gaming peripherals, Fnatic Gear, now used by gamers and pros worldwide. In addition, the organization broke new ground in 2016 when it launched the first ever esports concept retail store, BUNKR.

Fnatic is headquartered in London, United Kingdom with additional offices and gaming houses in Berlin, Belgrade, Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur.

About Linden Lab

Linden Lab develops platforms that empower people to create, share, and benefit from virtual experiences. Founded in 1999, the company first launched Second Life, the groundbreaking virtual world enjoyed by millions around the globe, in 2003, which has since gone on to boast nearly two billion user creations and a vibrant $500 million (USD) economy. The company further expanded its portfolio in 2017 with the public beta release of Sansar, a free platform making social VR more accessible and immersive, available on Windows PCs and compatible with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. For more information, visit its website at https://www.lindenlab.com/.