Envy Gaming

Envy Gaming, Inc was a collective esports and gaming company. It was originally founded in 2007 by Tosh "Stainville" Mcgruder and Skyler "Foreplayy" Johnson as a Call of Duty esports team known as Team EnVyUs. Envy Gaming, LLC was formed in October 2012 and incorporated as Envy Gaming, Inc in May 2016. The company owned and operated several esports teams, including Team Envy, the Dallas Fuel of the Overwatch League, and the OpTic Texas of the Call of Duty League with OpTic Gaming. In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully become OpTic Gaming.

For the esports team owned by Envy Gaming, see Team Envy.
Envy Gaming
TypePrivate
IndustryEsports
Founded2007
Defunct2022 (2022)
FateMerged with OpTic Gaming
Headquarters
Dallas, Texas
,
United States
Key people
RevenueUS$8 million (2019)[1]
Subsidiaries
Websitehttp://envy.gg/

History
Former owner and CEO Mike "Hastr0" Rufail

2007–2016

Envy Gaming was originally founded by Tosh "Stainville" Mcgruder and Skyler "Foreplayy" Johnson as a professional Call of Duty 4 team in 2007, known as Team EnVyUs. The team brought on Mike "Hastr0" Rufail in 2009 as a team member; Rufail would eventually become the team's owner.[2] Envy Gaming, LLC was officially established in North Carolina on October 31, 2012.[3] The company was officially incorporated on May 25, 2016, as Envy Gaming, Inc.[4]

2017–2022

After a reportedly US$35 million investment from Hersh Interactive Group in September 2017, Envy Gaming relocated their headquarters from Charlotte, North Carolina to Dallas, Texas.[5] The deal also allowed Envy to purchase the Dallas-based Overwatch League franchise spot for an estimated US$20 million, making them one of twelve teams competing in the league's inaugural season.[6][7] Envy Gaming filled the roster by transferring all of the members and staff from the Overwatch team of Team EnVyUs, which officially ended EnVyUs' Overwatch division.[8] On October 5, 2017, the Dallas-based franchise name was revealed as the Dallas Fuel.[9]

On June 28, 2018, Envy Gaming hired former COO for the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and EVP of sales and marketing for the Dallas Stars Geoff Moore as its first President and COO.[10]

Envy established their second franchised team in May 2019 with the purchase of a slot for Activision's Call of Duty League for a reported US$25 million.[11][12] The team's name, Dallas Empire, and branding were revealed on October 19 and chosen as a callback to the organization's roots.[13]

In October 2019, Envy Gaming established their headquarters and training facility at Victory Park in Dallas. The 20,872 square feet (1,939.1 m2) will include space dedicated to team training, content creation, player development, and wellness training.[14]

On July 9, 2020, Envy Gaming appointed that Adam Rymer as the company's new CEO, replacing founder and owner Mike Rufail.[15]

In November 2021, it was announced that Envy Gaming would acquire the OpTic Gaming brand as part of a merger. OpTic Gaming leader Hector "HECZ" Rodriguez joined the combined companies' ownership group and was to serve as President of OpTic Gaming. This also brought the OpTic Texas roster for Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty League into the Envy family.[16]

In January 2022, Envy Gaming acquired the operating contract for Esports Stadium Arlington, an esports facility located in Arlington, Texas, from Esports Venues LLC.[17]

In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully become OpTic Gaming. The Envy Foundation, a grant program helping North Texas middle schools and high schools, became the OpTic Foundation. Team Envy's content creators and Rocket League team were rebranded to OpTic Gaming, while the Dallas Fuel team remained as is.[18][19]

Investors

Envy Gaming acquired several investors in 2017. In March, it was revealed that prior to becoming chief business officer of Team Envy, John Brock had invested a seven-figure sum into the team.[20] Months later, in September, Team Envy owner Mike Rufail confirmed that the organization had secured a reportedly US$35 million investment from Hersh Interactive Group. The deal entailed Hersh serving as strategic partners to the organization, whilst Rufail would remain as the principal owner and operator of the team.[5][21][22] Two months later, World Series of Poker High Roller winner Fedor Holz invested in Envy Gaming to become a minority owner.[23]

In July 2018, Preston Arsement, known as the YouTube personality PrestonPlayz, joined Envy Gaming as an investor and content creator.[24] In January 2019, Envy announced it had raised US$20 million in external capital; they did not reveal the identity of the investors and only described them as "a mix of prominent local investors and Texas families, as well as a select set of national investors."[25]

In August 2020, Post Malone acquired a minority stake, joining as a co-owner.[26][27]

References
  1. Settimi, Christina (November 5, 2019). "'Awful Business' Or The New Gold Rush? The Most Valuable Companies In Esports Are Surging". Forbes. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  2. James, Ford (April 17, 2019). "History of CoD eSports: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  3. North Carolina Secretary of State (October 29, 2012), Articles of Organization of Envy Gaming, LLC, C2012 305 00359
  4. North Carolina Secretary of State (June 15, 2016), Application for Certificate of Authority, C2016 194 00130
  5. Garrett, Arnessa (September 18, 2017). "E-sports pioneer Team Envy announces relocation to Dallas after big investment from oil baron". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  6. Marshall, Cass (September 20, 2017). "Meet the final founding members of the Overwatch League". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  7. Wolf, Jacob (August 6, 2017). "Blizzard to add Team EnVyUs as Austin-Dallas Overwatch League rep". ESPN. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  8. Marshall, Cass (November 7, 2017). "The Dallas Fuel are eager to debut in the Overwatch League". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  9. Carpenter, Nicole (October 5, 2017). "Team Envy's Overwatch League team will be called the Dallas Fuel". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  10. Fischer, Ben (June 28, 2018). "Sports Industry Veteran Geoff Moore to Join Envy Gaming as President". The Esports Observer. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  11. Vincent, Brittany (May 2, 2019). "Activision Sells First Five 'Call of Duty' Esports League Teams". Variety. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  12. Webb, Kevin (November 9, 2019). "Twelve teams reportedly paid $25 million each to join a new esports league around one of the biggest games in the world — here's everything you need to know about Call of Duty League". Business Insider. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  13. Magelssen, Tommy (October 19, 2019). "Dallas Empire branding for Envy Gaming's Call of Duty League team signals 'a new era' for a storied esports organization". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  14. Montes, Bianca (October 31, 2019). "Envy Gaming to Establish Esports Training Center and Headquarters in Dallas' Victory Park". D Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  15. Ajamy, David (July 10, 2020). "Dallas-based Envy Gaming names new CEO". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  16. Edwards, Alex (November 9, 2021). "OpTic Gaming Merges With Envy Gaming to Form a Combined North Texas Esports Powerhouse". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  17. Swanger, Ben (January 13, 2022). "Dallas-based Envy Gaming Acquires Esports Stadium in Arlington". D Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  18. "Envy Gaming retires its esports brand, becomes OpTic Gaming". Dallas News. 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  19. "SBJ Unpacks: Nike continues to see tough North American market". Sports Business Journal. June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  20. Dunn, Andrew (March 9, 2017). "Will this team become Charlotte's next major league sports franchise?". Charlotte Agenda. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  21. Carpenter, Nicole (September 18, 2017). "Team EnVyUs confirms eight-figure investment deal from oil magnate". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  22. Ring, Oliver (September 19, 2017). "Team EnVyUs confirm "multi eight figure investment" from Hersh Interactive Group". Esports Insider. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  23. Wolf, Jacob (December 16, 2017). "Poker pro Fedor Holz invests in Team Envy, Dallas Fuel". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  24. Hollingsworth, David (July 19, 2018). "Preston Arsement partners with Team Envy". Esports Insider. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  25. Fischer, Ben (January 4, 2019). "Envy Gaming Raises $20M from External Investors". The Esports Observer. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  26. Webster, Andrew (2020-08-28). "Post Malone is now a co-owner of Texas' biggest esports teams". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  27. Beresford, Trilby (2020-08-28). "Post Malone Takes Equity Stake in Envy Gaming (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
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