Esports profitability possible, Logitech G are in, Collegiate Series Finals are here, Kidswear poll and metrics are up!

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Continuous development is part of our DNA, we’re always looking to improve. How we define this is no different to any other startup, we’re looking for green shoots. Across March we’ve found a few of these.

We’ve now announced three companies in Office Showdown, found an impressive retail solution that resolves the implications of Brexit, started exploring consultancy opportunities to build momentum for Nemesis and started conversations with a second pilot tournament partner for the Ireland Esports Schools Series.

🚨 Our Ireland Esports Collegiate Series Spring Finals kick-off tonight at 7pm right here. You can find everything you need to know online here for those that want to take a look. 🚨 

Our short reads, long reads, successes, challenges…well you know the rest, they follow below 👇🏼

INDUSTRY NEWS

🗞️ In Focus – G2 Esports and HEROIC: Innovating in Different Ways.

In an esports industry where many organisations are grappling with growth challenges, G2 Esports and HEROIC are proving that innovation can come in various forms. While G2 continues to thrive through bold diversification, HEROIC is demonstrating how staying true to your core strengths can lead to profitability.

On March 20, 2025, G2 completed a seven-figure Series B investment round, securing new investors and laying the groundwork for future growth. This milestone speaks to G2’s strength as a leading esports organisation, particularly as they’ve been exploring new avenues beyond gaming. G2 have now announced the launch of a football team in the German Kings League. By blending the worlds of esports and traditional sports (albeit modified), G2 is attempting to tap into a new demographic, creating a cross-industry experience that resonates with a tech-savvy audience.

While G2 is venturing into new territories, HEROIC is focused on strengthening its position within its core esports business. After it’s financial struggles in 2023, the organisation recently announced that it had achieved profitability in 2024, a rare achievement in the esports industry. HEROIC’s profit showcases their ability to thrive by maintaining a sharp focus on high-level performance and efficient business operations. Testament to how re-focusing on core operations can lead to success in a competitive market.

Together, G2 and HEROIC illustrate two distinct paths to success: one through innovative diversification and the other through solid, core business execution. Both are proving that there is no single blueprint for thriving in the esports ecosystem - but it is possible.

Here’s our selection of short and long reads from across the esports and gaming media;

SUCCESSES

🚀 Logitech G and GG Machines were first to be announced in Office Showdown, we also dropped EdTech Ireland Innovation Hub this week. Momentum is building despite the perceptions that we’re unpicking on a near daily basis, i.e. “we don’t have any gamers here”….really!

🚀 Our new Nativz Esports Club Shop is live at shop.nativz.gg, regional fulfilment for pick, print, pack and post resolves the Brexit/customs issue for our Irish community. We’re now building a stand alone shop for the Schools, Collegiate and Company Series’ which you can find online here (Coming Soon)

🚀 Nativz Esports Club LOL Academy went into playoffs but unfortunately did not progress at the first time of asking, RL Academy finished 5th/6th at their first in-person event at the Queens University based Gaming Hub Reboot

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CHALLENGES

We made a really tough decision this past month to not run the in-person event for the Collegiate Series Spring Finals. We’ll be back but with a different approach in 25/26.

From past life experiences, getting student engagement isn’t easy, we tried it in many different ways with the various professional clubs I’ve worked for. That’s played a big part in how we’ve managed our own expectations here - to build a sustainable Collegiate Series and extract value in ways other than profit as a core part of the bigger business opportunity (network, talent, data, insight, tech development testing etc).

Pausing the in-person aspect for the Spring Series has highlighted there three key challenges that we’re taking into the planning process for the 2025-2028 strategy:

🕹️ Esports culture - students start with the view that everything should be free, while we focused more on the technical and production quality across the first three events - the fourth was about footfall. Let’s just say we need to revisit the proposition.

🕹️ Viewership is game specific - Rugby fans aren’t necessarily Football fans right? This is true for esports. We can’t expect a Counter-Strike fan to watch a League of Legends match, but we also found that if their Uni was playing in two games that didn’t matter.

🕹️ On campus infrastructure - TU Dublin valued the in-person experience so much (from a player experience POV) that they found budget to travel down to Cork return AND paid to play their finals games in the Esports Centre there. That’s not cool.

Reflections on these points have led to the following opportunities for us:

👉🏼 Series Format - we’re at a point where the talent is coming forward and with our pathway-to-pro in place we now have an opportunity to split the Series into two streams; (1) Performance and (2) Social.

👉🏼 University Gaming Hubs - Imagine the University esports team playing from home like the rugby team but broadcast live! Universities need to start embracing esports if not already, it isn’t going away, we need to help unlock this opportunity in our network.

👉🏼 Collegiate Advisory Committee - the key to enabling a fundamentally sustainable business model PLUS creating meaningful impact for the network is through gaining more knowledge and influence, we’re now building a vehicle to achieve this.

NEEDS

We’re preparing to launch our first Nativz Kidswear collection — a bold, gaming-inspired apparel range built for the next generation of fans. Each design taps into youth gaming culture and merges it with streetwear sensibility.

Before we hit production, we’d love your input….the kids will appreciate it!

METRICS

The following metrics are for the period of 1-31 March 2025:

COMING UP (& UNDERWAY)

Take a look at what we've got coming up:

📅 Underway - Nativz Rocket League and LoL Academy teams in competition

📅 11-13 April (tonight) - Collegiate Series Spring Finals Weekend (Online Here)

📅 w/c 21 April - Ireland Esports Company Series, Office Showdown commences

Thanks for reading, now’s the important part - PLEASE share with your friends and family.

Regards,

Kurt & the Nativz Gaming Team

OFFICIAL PARTNERS OF NATIVZ GAMING