GAME

With tournaments offering multi-million pound prize pots and massive live events, the eSports field is officially big business. It just got a little bigger, with UK retailer GAME buying gaming event organiser and multiplayer service host Multiplay for a hefty £20m.

The deal will see GAME take complete ownership of the company, including its events business, which is likely the main draw. £12.6m is being paid up front, with the rest in deferred shares.


For the less business-minded, that's quite a chunk to lay down at the outset, which points to GAME's confidence in the move.

Founded in 1997, the Southampton-based Multiplay was born from founder Craig Fletcher's love of gaming LAN parties. The company is now a key presence in PC gaming, providing the backbone to countless play sessions as well as hosting hundreds of competitive and social events worldwide. By far its largest is the annual Insomnia festival, held in Coventry. In 2014, it attracted over 67,000 people to compete and watch the world's top players in action, and saw 1.4 million viewers keeping track through its official streams. With a young, tech savvy base of consumers, it's easy to see the appeal of the company for GAME.

"The acquisition of Multiplay is an exciting and strategically important step for GAME," said the retailer's chief executive, Martyn Gibbs. "The world of live events, eSports and multiplayer gaming is growing rapidly and one we have been looking to enter for some time. By acquiring Multiplay we are benefitting from nearly two decades of experience, during which time Multiplay has built an exceptional reputation and leading position in its markets.


Multiplay has a great management team and a fantastic culture -- their passion and enthusiasm for games is infectious." "GAME and Multiplay are both passionate about games and gaming, building valuable communities of gamers and putting customers first," added Multiplay's Fletcher. "Over the years, we've worked closely with the GAME team on many occasions and come to know them well. Our businesses are culturally aligned and I am looking forward to joining and working with Martyn and the team. Being part of GAME means that together we can offer our communities so much more than we ever could have independently and more rapidly can realise our growth aspirations."

The acquisition will see Fletcher continuing in his role as CEO, to maintain continuity of services and relationships with providers and consumers. On a more practical level as far as players and attendees are concerned, the Multiplay and Insomnia "brands" aren't going anywhere, and the experience is intended to be unchanged.

WIRED.co.uk has reached out to Multiplay for comment and will update this story accordingly.