Veteran esports brand Team Envy is being retired to exclusively focus on OpTic Gaming in the future.
Envy merged with
OpTic Gaming
at the end of 2021. Moving forward, Envy is going to exclusively use the OpTic Gaming name and brand across all of it esports teams and enterprises.
The major update was first discussed on the latest episode of the Eavesdrop podcast, titled “Announcing the Future of OpTic Gaming.” The organization’s founder, Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez and Envy founder Mike “hastr0” announced that the brands would no longer coexist. While some teams had already taken on the OpTic name after the merger, including the Valorant and Call of Duty teams, the entirety of the org will now follow suit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhgHJMhlSPU
Why is Envy becoming OpTic Gaming?
While the original plan was to continue having dual branding, it soon became clear that the split between Envy and OpTic was no longer making sense. The company was continuously dividing resources between the two identities and this finally became too overwhelming in June.
Hastr0 said that at this point, Envy has decided to “put all our resources into OpTic.” But why OpTic Gaming instead of Envy?
While Envy is a staple in the esports industry, OpTic Gaming has become more popular in recent years. OpTic has a very loyal fanbase that the organization wants to tap into for all of its teams. Content creators will also use OpTic branding from now on, continuing to build on the Optic Gaming name.
Hastr0 acknowledged that fans of Envy will most likely be upset at the “end” of the organization. He said that there are even fans that have tattoos of the Envy logo and some who have been supporting Envy for “almost 15 years.” This is something Hastr0 has been thinking about “the whole time” of the merger.
“But at the same time, we have to survive. This business has to continue to survive. I’m the one that’s more attached to that Envy brand than anyone…I think it’s time we put all of our resources into one brand,” Hastr0 said.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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