Industry leaders to collaborate on creating content, producing tournaments and developing curriculum to further advance Black Fire Innovation’s mission
TORONTO, June 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GameSquare Esports Inc. (CSE: GSQ; FRA: 29Q1) (“GameSquare” or the “Company”), an international gaming and esports company, is pleased to announce that the Gaming Community Network (“GCN”), part of the GameSquare’s group of companies, announced an alliance with Black Fire Innovation, a collaboration between University of Nevada, Las Vegas (“UNLV”) Office of Economic Development and Caesars Entertainment, Inc. This team effort is anticipated to unite GCN’s gaming and esports expertise with Black Fire Innovation’s state-of-the-art facilities.
“The collaboration between Black Fire Innovation and GCN is expected to further esports innovation to create more opportunities and collaboration in the broader video gaming industry,” said Drew Brunson, GCN’s Vice President of Partnerships and Activations, UNLV alumnus, and long-time supporter of Black Fire Innovation.
Through this alliance, GCN is tasked with driving diverse initiatives, including: producing collegiate esports tournaments, hosting and coaching content creators, and developing curriculum as part of a master class series for students to gain real-world insights within the gaming and esports industry. GCN also plans to attract brands to engage with its programs being produced at Black Fire Innovation.
GCN bridges the gap between traditional media and gaming across its proprietary media network that reaches 65M+ MAUs (monthly active users) in the US and 115M+ MAUs globally; GCN uses this reach to drive premium content designed to provoke conversations. In partnership with Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment, GCN recently produced its inaugural Collegiate Esports Invitational featuring Fortnite. The event was held at Black Fire Innovation, where colleges and universities from ten NCAA conferences competed for the national crown, ultimately won by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
“One of the missions of Black Fire Innovation is to advance the hospitality and gaming space as we know it today through creativity, entrepreneurship, and the acceleration of new technologies. GCN is an emerging thought leader in the global esports community, and we are delighted to collaborate with them at Black Fire Innovation,” said Bo Bernhard, Ph.D., Interim Associate Vice President for UNLV Office of Economic Development and Executive Director of UNLV International Gaming Institute.
About GameSquare Esports Inc.
GameSquare Esports Inc. is an international gaming and esports company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company is seeking to acquire additional assets and entities serving the gaming and esports markets and, more broadly, in sports and entertainment. GameSquare’s acquisition of Code Red Esports Ltd. (“CodeRed”), an esports talent agency, provided an initial foothold in Europe through its UK operations. Code Red represents leading on-screen talent, players and influencers and works with leading global brands to develop influencer campaigns and esports marketing strategies. The Company’s second acquisition of Reciprocity Corp. provides access to Asia, Latin America and North America. Its gaming and esports assets include: a CrossFire franchise in China that it owns with its partner LGD Gaming, a 40% interest in a League of Legends team that competes in Latin America, and its wholly owned subsidiary corporation, GCN, a digital media company focusing on the gaming and esports audience based in Los Angeles, U.S.
About GCN
GCN is the only independent media group completely dedicated to gaming and esports across community sites, content producers, influencers and tournament/event operators. Bridging the gap between traditional media and gaming with a “Gamer First” promise, GCN’s aggregated & integrated proprietary media network reaches 65M+ MAU’s in the U.S. (115M+ MAUs globally) driving scale for premium content designed to provoke and share conversations. GCN builds bespoke strategy solutions from content creation to full-scale tournaments for any endpoint, be it social, broadcast TV or live stream. As a GameSquare subsidiary, GCN collaborates with its partners to deliver memorable experiences for gamers and brands. To learn more, visit GCN.gg or follow on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/GamingCommunityNetwork/.
About Black Fire Innovation
Black Fire Innovation is a unique public-private partnership between the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, one of the top research institutions in the U.S., and Caesars Entertainment, Inc., the largest casino-entertainment company in the U.S. and one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers. As the flagship tenant in UNLV’s Harry Reid Research & Technology Park in Las Vegas, Black Fire Innovation encompasses a 43,000-square-foot innovation space – designed to offer students, entrepreneurs, and private industry partners opportunities to accelerate new ideas that drive the hospitality industry and Las Vegas community forward. This collaborative space gives researchers unparalleled access to conduct on-demand testing of new ideas and products in an emulated integrated resort with a casino floor, sportsbook, hotel rooms, digital lounge, and an esports arena. Learn more at www.blackfireinnovation.com.
Investor Relations
For further information about GameSquare Esports Inc., contact Kevin Wright, President:
E: ir@gamesquare.com
P: (416) 861-2267
Media Contacts
For further information about GCN, contact Matt Basta:
E: GCN@dkcnews.com
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: GCN’s ability to unite its gaming and esports expertise with Black Fire Innovation’s state-of-the-art facilities, drive certain diverse initiatives, and attract brands to engage with its programs being produced at Black Fire Innovation, the business and operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, and the Company’s ability to execute its business plan. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. GameSquare assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”) nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
