BLAST expands Epic Games deal

Esports organisation BLAST has announced a multi-year expansion of its deal with video game developer, publisher and retailer Epic Games and will thus run its competitive tournaments, the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), starting with their respective 2024 editions.

The partnership expands the already-in-place three-year deal with the FNCS. BLAST already hosted various FNCS events in 2023 and will now be in charge of all “operations of competitions, event production, and marketing of the RLCS and FNCS”. BLAST will also be responsible for the commercial rights of the two games’ competitive broadcasts and events — a first for the FNCS.

Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer, BLAST, commented:

“We are immensely proud to announce this momentous multi-year deal with Epic Games. We believe this partnership represents the future of competitive gaming, where organisations like BLAST are able to work in tandem with world-leading publishers to create incredible experiences for players and teams to compete at the top level in front of fans all over the world.

“Pioneering positive change in esports has always been part of the BLAST DNA and this announcement is an amazing continuation of that journey. Working together with the world’s biggest game publishers to elevate and grow their competitive properties has been a huge area of focus for BLAST in recent years. This collaboration is testament to that hard work and we are delighted to expand our relationship with Epic Games by operating the Rocket League Championship Series in addition to the Fortnite Championship Series.”