Esports org OverActive Media gets investment from The Weeknd

Published April 10, 2019

OverActive Media, the company that owns the Splyce esports org and the Overwatch League’s Toronto Defiant team, have announced that The Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye) has invested in the company.

In the world of esports, OAM is a big organization — the Toronto-based company, which launched in 2017, has teams in the League of Legends European Championship, Overwatch League, Call of Duty World League, Rocket League, Starcraft and Smite. OAM is one of only five esports orgs in the world with permanent slots both in League of Legends and the Overwatch League.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a look at one of the Toronto Defiant’s recent Overwatch League games.

The terms of the investment were not disclosed, but it would appear that The Weeknd will be contributing to some marketing efforts and building brand awareness around Splyce and the Toronto Defiant.

“Abel’s standing in the music industry will provide our Toronto Defiant and Splyce brands the opportunity to reach more fans and engage new audiences,” said OAM CEO and president Chris Overholt.

The release also mentions that Toronto Defiant fans will see “unique joint efforts” with The Weeknd throughout the 2019 Overwatch League seasons.

Here’s what The Weeknd had to say, via the release:

As a big esports fan, I am really excited to be involved in this project. I am looking forward to collaborating with OverActive Media in unique and innovative ways.

The Weeknd is not the first musical artist to invest in an esports org. Drake and Scooter Braun invested in esports company 100 Thieves in October of 2018.