In May 2010, 3 YouTubers started uploading trick shots to Call of Duty . They called themselves “FaZe Sniping”. 11 years later, the “FaZe” clan is the largest esports clan in the world. Now they want to take the company public. They are aiming for a valuation of one billion US dollars.
This is the FaZe Clan:
- The FaZe Clan is an esports organization with strong roots in content creation. Originally, the clan was formed as a group that uploaded trick shots on YouTube.
- The clan is not so much known for the success of its teams in esports titles, but rather for having particularly many successful YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and influencers under contract. Streamers like NickMercs (No. 11 in the world) are part of FaZe, and Tfue (No. 2 in the world) was long with FaZe as well. They have countless successful YouTubers under contract.
- The FaZe Clan currently has teams in Call of Duty, CS:GO, PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, Fortnite, Valorant, and Rocket League. In Fortnite, the game has about star players like Mongraal, Bizzle, or Dubs. The clan claims to have won 30 championships worldwide. However, they lack teams in the classic esports titles LoL and DOTA 2.
The FaZe Clan is the largest esports clan in the world when it comes to followers on social media, as they heavily rely on influencers. They are vastly superior to classic esports teams like “Team SoloMid” in terms of followers on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
FaZe aims for a market valuation of 1 billion US dollars
This is now FaZe’s plan: As FaZe announced, they want to go public on the NASDAQ. This is to be done through a merger agreement with a subsidiary of a financial conglomerate. After the IPO, the company they merge with is to be renamed FaZe Holdings Inc.; the stock is to be traded under the ticker “FaZe”.
For the company’s valuation, they are aiming for about one billion US dollars. 291 million US dollars is what the deal is supposed to bring FaZe in cash, which they will invest in the company’s growth.
The IPO is expected to occur in the 1st quarter of 2022, if all goes according to plan.
At the forefront of youth culture and new forms of economy
Why is FaZe worth so much? FaZe sees itself with 350 million followers on social media ideally positioned to reach Gen Z customers and millennials. They say they are at the forefront of the “Global Creator Economy”.
They have reinvented “traditional entertainment” for a new generation: FaZe sees itself as a leading force in youth culture and as a top-tier brand.
It is said:
FaZe is positioned to become one of the only digitally native, youth-focused lifestyle and media platforms that can be publicly traded on a US exchange.
FaZe
Many controversies surround the clan
What is remarkable: With all the success and size that the FaZe Clan has achieved, it is constantly embroiled in conflicts:
- One of the clan’s leaders, FaZe Banks, is said to have operated a betting site for CS:GO skins in Antigua.
- There was a major controversy about the clan leader giving young Fortnite player Tfue a gag contract,
- that also bound him to the clan when Tfue had already become a Twitch star and desperately wanted to get out of the contract.
- There was a discussion about FaZe Rain, who spoke about the clan’s problematic deals.
- Recently, FaZe influencers burned their fingers when promoting a cryptocurrency that was criticized as a “pump and dump” scam. FaZe has distanced itself sharply from this and terminated one of the influencers.
This is what lies behind it: FaZe is a unique case among esports clans because the clan has always focused on “content creators” and “we are a brand and a lifestyle” and did not try to win titles in major esports games like DOTA 2 or League of Legends like a traditional sports club.
Because they have taken this path through personalities and maintained a certain “tough street image” with which many can identify, the clan has grown much stronger on social media than all other teams.
This has now put them in a position to go public themselves.
Comparable esports teams like Team SoloMid, on the other hand, are taking the route of collaborating with large companies through sponsorship to acquire similar sums as FaZe is doing now.
It will be interesting to see how FaZe continues after the IPO. Because controversies that keep arising could then affect the stock price.
When YouTubers with 5 million fans publicly complain, they had to promote strange products in the name of the clan, receiving much criticism but only little money, this is currently a curious piece of news that raises eyebrows. Once FaZe is on the stock market, it could have much larger implications.
One of the best-known influencers from FaZe was a few years ago FaZe Jarvis (featured image). He pulled off the stunt of receiving a permanent account ban from Fortnite as a Fortnite pro:
Fortnite permanently bans 17-year-old pro, ending his career
