Swedish esports platform Challengermode has announced its expansion into the North American market.
The expansion will see the company seek to build new partnerships, drive customer acquisition and expand its international team, operations and offerings.
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Robel Efrem, the CEO of Challengermode, spoke on the announcement: “We’re incredibly excited to announce our official expansion into the US. Thanks to our established industry partners, we are well-positioned to bring grassroots esports the focus it deserves, giving players an all-important place to compete and level up their skills, while simultaneously acting as a gateway for other stakeholders to participate in the esports economy.
“Beyond creating a space for players and organisers, our presence in the US is also targeting further integration with game developers, looking to build out the esports aspects of their games and allowing new esports titles to hit the ground running.”
According to the release, the move is expected to help deliver the platform’s mission of making ‘esports accessible to everyone.’
The expansion comes after a pivotal year for Challengermode. In 2020 esports platform secured a $12m investment round led by eWTP Innovation Fund, the global investment arm of the Alibaba Group, Telia Ventures, and Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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Philip Hubner, Challengermode’s Chief Business Development Officer, added: “North America is home to over 57 million esports viewers. Despite the scene’s exponential growth in the last decade, the vast majority of this audience has never had a chance to participate in esports in any capacity, which is especially true on consoles. The industry is still extremely top-heavy and built too much around sponsorship, broadcasting licenses and advertising revenue, rather than consumer revenue and participation.
“Challengermode is looking to turn the current industry model on its head, creating value for all esports stakeholders from the bottom up as well as the top down. To us, game developers are a key part of what will drive this change and so we’re excited to work more closely with developers across the Americas and around the world.”
Esports Insider says: After securing solid funding, along with appointing an experienced duo of executives last year, the firm’s US expansion seems like a logical next step. Challengermode is known for hosting various national, collegiate and corporate esports leagues throughout Europe, therefore it will be interesting to watch how the platform contributes to the development of esports in North American.
