Is Faze Back?
Yo, so check this out. I’m at the Gora, down in the Lunger Hall eating, and I see this kid. By ‘kid,’ I mean he’s probably in his early 20s, but anyway, this guy’s wearing a FaZe shirt. It kind of sparked something, like one of those world-colliding moments. It’s like this online world I’m deep into, but so many people around me aren’t. But for this other generation, FaZe Clan, Optic, 100 Thieves—these orgs are as well-known as the Winnipeg Jets, the Yankees, Lakers, or famous rappers.
I realize some of you, especially those my age, may not really know who FaZe is. So, to sum it up, they’re this gaming group that started back in 2010, known for doing trick shot videos in Call of Duty. They were basically making And1 highlights before COD was even that popular. These guys were one of the first main groups, along with OpTic, and they really carved out the gaming niche in many ways to what it is now. They became the archetype, the mold for the gaming scene, using personalities with gaming content, and they just blew up. By 2014, these guys were worth a ton, mostly just from YouTube and some merch sales.
They caught the attention of venture capitalists and investment firms, and the original FaZe guys were given a massive bag in exchange for the keys to the kingdom they built. I think in the late part of the last decade, there was genuine interest in orgs and gaming orgs because of the sheer number of eyeballs these orgs and creators could capture. They had a captive audience, an existing user base ready to be capitalized on.
Now, I’ve always had an interest in the industry because I’ve never really understood how it all worked or made money. The amount of money being thrown into it just never made sense. I’ve always been trying to make sense of it. Orgs end up funding esports teams across various games, having to pay money to rosters who then compete and may or may not win some prize money back, but a lot of times, that just didn’t seem like a viable or good way to run a company.
I’m not sure how much these guys are making from merch sales, but even then, it doesn’t seem like it’d be enough to pay these players, cover their flights, housing, and all that kind of stuff. So, I later learned that it’s mostly through brand collabs and sponsorships. And once FaZe went corporate, we really started to see that. We saw collabs with DC Comics, Nike, and McDonald’s. These orgs basically grab content creator streamers, bring them in, use those collective numbers from their socials to then pitch bigger brands and sponsors for deals, split that back with the creators, and keep some for the org—more or less running things like a talent agency would. But the split was pretty ridiculous. In one case, I remember hearing that 100 Thieves had one split on a sponsorship that was 80/20 or something. It just seemed insane to me.
Anyway, it explains how the org makes its money. For all this to remain viable, though, the core brand needs to keep those eyeballs and, at the same time, remain authentic and true to itself. Otherwise, if the brand loses its aura, everything else kind of falls to the wayside. And that seems to be what happened with FaZe. Once the suits took over, FaZe really started to lose that aura and edge that made it FaZe, what made it cool and appealing to begin with. Not surprisingly, the stock tanked out the gate, which, to me, means it was just mispriced to begin with and a complete rug pull by the original investors.
But in trying to really bounce back, they were just trying to sign anyone with any kind of brand appeal, it seemed. Eventually, this led to the community and the OG guys to rebel because, obviously, they were seeing this thing that they built just get hacked to death, and started fighting back and publicly going after the corp until eventually, sh*t hit the fan, and GameSquare bought them out and gave ownership back to the original guys.
Which takes us back to what happened the other day. I see all over my timeline that FaZe has just taken out the Gen Z and started cutting the FaZe roster. They released what I thought was a cool video, like this Windows 95 blue screen of death type thing. I don’t know, maybe because I’m from that time, I just thought the visual was well done, kind of doing a full system restart, restore type thing. And yeah, I don’t know, man, even if it was made to highlight the calling of talent, I thought it was well done.
I think the whole calling thing was something that was being teased for a bit now, or at least ever since the OG FaZe guys got the keys back to the kingdom. That’s understandably irked some people because I think for some of those who did get signed by the suits, they still value that FaZe legacy and being part of it meant something to them. And some of those who got cut, like Kayy Neo and Agony, who seemed like perfect fits for FaZe were let go. Also, in one interview, Banks, the CEO, was just saying it’s not personal, just cutting anyone who wasn’t family or was picked by the old regime so that they could destroy and rebuild their own way, which seems to be what they’re doing with their four new pickups, they just wanted people that they’re cool with.
But aside from all that, I’m still surprised that orgs play such a big part in this ecosystem. It’s like the whole thing with musicians and record labels, where I just don’t see the org or the record label being able to do anything for the creator these days that, at least not a decently sized one, could do for themselves with just some agency representation. It seems that there’s more people now who understand the gaming space and can work as a traditional agent within securing sponsorship deals at a much lower rate. So much of this space is based around your own personality that it seems like the org gets way more out of this relationship than the creator does.
I get that there’s definite credit or clout that you get by saying you’re part of an org and building together is easier than building alone, but it always seemed that most of these guys on orgs, they just continue to do most things with their own crew and people, and I never truly understood what the org brought to the table. That said, I could just be mad ignorant of the space, but it feels like the same thing with record labels, where you could be making a lot more as an independent and control your own stuff than if you were part of an org. But with an org, I guess they got people already there who could help you and save you a ton of leg work, but again, I’m not sure if that leg work is worth a pinch if they’re taking 80%.
Anyway, I just thought I’d share this since I thought it was cool seeing a kid at the Gora rocking a FaZe shirt, to then the next day, FaZe going all full-on Queensbridge mode, destroying and rebuilding everything. But hey, I’m always interested to know what you guys think. Those likes and subs go a long way, and I appreciate everyone doing their part. Also, I love the feedback I get in private about what y’all like or what I can improve on, so please keep that feedback coming. Till the next one though, peace.
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