On June 12, Immortals Gaming Club (IGC) announced the acquisition of Infinite Esports & Entertainment, the parent company of OpTic Gaming and the Houston Outlaws Overwatch League team.
All existing Infinite Esports investors, including Texas Rangers co-owners Neil Leibman and Ray Davis, will join the ranks of IGC’s shareholders. With that, Immortals Gaming Club now owns four major esports brands in Immortals, OpTic, MiBR, and LA Valiant, making it one of the largest organizations in competitive gaming.
IGC Chief Executive Officer Ari Segal issued the following statement about the deal:
“Today, we announced a transformative transaction for our organization and a landmark transaction for our industry. Across our family of brands, . . . IGC’s total audience size is nearly three times larger than our nearest competitors. . . . Armed with these brands, the best fans in esports, the legacy and tradition of great teams and players, and a newly reinforced and strong balance sheet, IGC is positioned to be a market leader and model organization.”
So does this mean the OpTic Gaming brand will be assimilated by Immortals? And if so, how will this affect OpTic’s current esports teams? Let’s dive into the IGC press release and find out.
The Fading Greenwall?
It’s no secret OpTic Gaming is a huge name in esports. Their content-heavy branding turned them into one of the most popular Call of Duty teams in the world. And while they haven’t reached the same level of success in other games, they still own successful franchises in Overwatch and League of Legends. IGC seems set on keeping OpTic’s presence intact in the Call of Duty scene. In short, the CoD team will continue to play under the OpTic Gaming name.
The irony is that the next year will signify the start of Call of Duty franchising. Publisher Activision Blizzard seeks to create a city-based league similar to Overwatch’s. Thus, IGC might still have to pick a new name for its CoD team.
Speaking of Overwatch, Immortals Gaming Club already has an Overwatch League team in LA Valiant. And since the league’s rules prevent an organization from owning two teams at the same time, IGC won’t be able to hold on to Houston Outlaws. Hence, the company will manage Houston Outlaws on an interim basis before selling the team to another organization.
A similar fate awaits OpTic Gaming’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive lineup. IGC already has a strong presence in the CS:GO scene thanks to its MiBR team. Therefore, they will look to sell OpTic’s Counter-Strike squad to another company.
Finally, there’s the League of Legends team. According to the press release, it will play out the rest of the 2019 LCS Summer Split under the OpTic Gaming banner. However, the LoL team will rebrand as Immortals at the beginning of 2020. That’s right, Immortals are finally back in the LCS!
Future prospects
Regardless of what you think about this acquisition, it’s already made a splash in the esports scene.
Many League of Legends viewers are excited for Immortals to make a triumphant LCS comeback. Meanwhile, old-school Greenwall fans are split between cheering on their Call of Duty team and supporting the founder and former CEO of OpTic—Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez—in his new ventures. Whatever the case, this is by far the biggest change of ownership in esports history. And it will certainly be remembered for many years to come.
Image courtesy of Immortals Gaming Club.
