The partnership will provide Rooter exclusive live streaming rights for popular games like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Free Fire, Call of Duty (M), and new forms of live gaming content.
Touted as one of the biggest esports deals in India’s history, it will also allow Rooter to serve as a sponsor for GodLike in all the upcoming tournaments and events.
“This is a massive deal for us,” Piyush Kumar, co-founder and CEO, Rooter, told ET. “We will get exclusive content of all the GodLike players on Rooter exclusively and they will play all the tournaments wearing Rooter branded jerseys. This will work very well for us in terms of branding.”
GodLike has over 15 million followers on YouTube and other platforms.
The deal value was not disclosed.
“This is one of our biggest deals and part of our commitment to invest Rs 100 crore in the Indian esports ecosystem,” Kumar added. “In the last three months, we have made big investments in the esports space. In the last month alone, we have signed seven esports teams, and GodLike is by far the biggest.”
Esports enthusiasts can now catch the currently active content creators from GodLike, including ‘Jonathan’ Amaral, Abhijeet ‘Ghatak’ Andhare, Abhishek ‘ZGOD’ Choudhary, Vivek ‘ClutchGod’ Horo, Suraj ‘Neyoo’ Majumdar, and Ashpreet ‘Gill’ Singh, on rooter.
All these streamers will now exclusively be seen streaming live streams on Rooter as a part of this collaboration.
“We foresee building a long-term relationship with them,” added Dipesh Agarwal, co-founder and COO, Rooter. “Having their roster of professional gamers as part of our massive community will give the fans tonnes of exclusive content and a chance to interact with their favourite streamers. This is the biggest deal ever signed in India’s esports ecosystem, and by joining forces with GodLike, we look forward to building an enormous and competitive community of streamers and influencers on our platform.”
“GodLike is known for exploring and nurturing gaming talent across India. They have created India’s leading teams in BGMI, Free Fire and Codm. The team is on a mission to build the most successful esports ecosystem the world has ever witnessed,” said Amar Sanjay Chandgude, director, Godlike Esports. “We are thrilled to partner with Rooter.”
The esports market size in India, although it is at a nascent stage, has quickly scaled to Rs 300 crore in FY21. A recent report released by EY stated that the market is expected to reach Rs 1,100 crore by FY25. However, esports has a much more significant economic impact and the potential to generate an economic value of around Rs 10,000 crore between now and FY25.
Rooter aims to capture this opportunity by teaming up with prominent esports teams and emerging as a lubricant in making India a global gaming powerhouse.
In January, the company had raised $25 million in its series A funding round led by Lightbox, March Gaming, and Duane Park Ventures. Last year in December, the streaming platform roped in renowned Indian cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Riyan Parag, who streams exclusively on the platform.
The company has also teamed up with Team Orange Rock, Orangutan and Revenge Esports.
Recently, it also bagged an exclusive media rights deal for South Asia’s biggest esports tournament organiser, Skyesports.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
