ESPN calls it the next big esports. Organisations like Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Luminosity Gaming have fielded teams. Tournaments get announced every second day, in fact, audio giant Dolby just recently entered esports with a $10,000 Overwatch tournament.

Overwatch esports is already a thing, even though the game is still not released. And while the big brands are already committing themselves to the game, it’s now or never for any new brand that wants to establish itself.

REUNITED is one of those new organisations. The former Fnatic Battlefield 4 roster has already earned a good name in Overwatch esports. After showing consistent results in the Beta and being amongst the top teams from the first days on, REUNITED decided to pursue an ambitious strategy: become an independent, player-owned, and investor-funded organisation.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Although we got approached by other esports organizations, we are very happy that we managed to convince investors to support our vision to build this organization. Overwatch has the potential to become huge and amaze the esports crowd,” says Frederik Kragh Christensen, Managing Director.[/perfectpullquote]

Similar to CS:GO team Astralis’ example, the founding players are shareholders of the company, which offers a lot of benefits compared to the common approach of players only being short-term contractors.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It feels great to own part of the organization you play for. It underlines our dedication to build an authentic brand by players for players. We are here to stay and build a multi-team organization with Frederik,” explains Thomas “Morte” Kerbusch, the team captain.[/perfectpullquote]

It’s good to see the Astralis approach transferred to other organisations, and even more so, being applied early on with the formation of a new team. And it seems to work. REUNITED has convinced some seed investors already, now the team is eager to win over more partners and sponsors.