Mentioned in this article Games: League of Legends

One of the largest companies to ever enter the esports sector, Airbus, cryptically announced it would be sponsoring a new League of Legends team via social media.

A tweet appeared early Friday morning originating from the Airbus Careers twitter, an auxillary account that tweets updates about job openings. The company did nothing to clarify any major details, simply announcing that Airbus would be sponsoring a new team named “Out of the Blue.”

Proud to announce that #Airbus enters #Esport world by sponsoring “Out Of The Blue” the new professional team of @LeagueOfLegends #lol pic.twitter.com/5qG8VA89Cf — Airbus Careers (@AirbusCareers) October 27, 2017

Many were confused about the vagueness of the announcement, as well as its source, leading some to speculate if the tweet was intentional. However, it was not deleted over the weekend, so at the very least Airbus seems to be leaning into it, error or not.

A slick video announcement came later, courtesy of French production company MasterFilms, but still without further detail.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Airbus’s entry into esports could signal the beginning of a trend for airline companies moving into the space.[/perfectpullquote]

Airbus’s entry into esports could signal the beginning of a trend for airline companies moving into the space. Earlier this year ESL partnered with Emirates Airline for on-demand esports content. The partnership allows passengers on Emirates airlines to view recent esports highlights and other content while flying, including premier ESL events. Airbus themselves debuted in esports with an appearance at the Paris event ESWC Summer.

There was initial speculation that Airbus would sponsor a Challenger Series team, especially since PSG Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas have left their future in League of Legends “up in the air”. After Riot revealed its plans for the European LCS in 2018, neither of those options are as likely. Whatever Airbus’ plans turn out to be, the aeronautics company turned over $67 billion in revenue last year, and would bring aboard astonishing financial weight.