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Here’s what we have for you today:

🏀 The End of the NBA 2K League?

This past week the NBA 2K’s esports league, the 2K League, announced it will be changing the format and style of the league. Stepping away from the competitive circuit to more of a for-fun & content-based series. NBA & Take-Two released three key pillars that would be changing with the league.

More details are expected to follow soon about their 2025 competitive season.

👀 Our POV

The move makes sense to me & is honestly the best path for the 2K League. With how massive & accessible social media and content creation are these days it makes sense to lean into creating a content-based league. Viewership has been in decline ever since the inaugural season in 2018, struggling to break 50,000 peak viewers across the rest of the seasons.

Tons of people play sports games like NBA 2K & Madden NFL, especially celebrities and even athletes themselves. Dallas Mavericks player PJ Washington was spotted playing NBA 2k during their playoff run this year. Streaming & hosting events around these professional athletes & celebrities not only showcases the game but gives fans a chance to see their favorite players compete outside of the NBA season.

- Justin Palacios (Private Lobby)

👑 OTK’s 2024 Mid-Year Report

Here in Private Lobby, we’ve covered OTK a few times already. The gaming and variety content & entertainment group is a part of a select few organizations really leading the way in terms of content and brand partnerships.

Only 6 months into 2024 and OTK has accomplished more than what many organizations have been able to accomplish in YEARS… let’s dive in.

OTK kicked off the year with the addition of Will Neff in February. As a part of Will Neff’s announcement, OTK teased that Will would be hosting their all-new activation, The OTK Film Festival. The festival attracted 178 submissions, with a star-studded panel judging the top 20 films live, including Twitch personalities like Dan Clancy and Andy Milonakis. (Note: this was not a sponsored activation)

What was next for OTK? OTK took inspiration from “American Idol” with a search for the next big streamer, OTK’s Top Streamer, presented by Progressive Insurance. OTK’s Top Streamer showcased a diverse range of 40 content creators culminating in a grand finale between MoatSimulator and Sardaco. Chapter 2 of OTK’s Top Streamer is taking place now, with 18 contestants entering the fray.

Up next: Always On connected by AT&T. Two of the largest women content creators in the space, OTK’s Emiru and ExtraEmily, launched a series where the two “IRL stream” their adventures, all thanks to AT&T’s network. From OTK’s Mid-Year Report: “From NASCAR pit crews to cabin-in-the-woods pajama parties (no, we're not making this up), they've been everywhere. During the most recent episode of Alway On, ExtraEmily hosted a pickleball tournament for the ages; we saw speed, grace, and surprisingly, no injuries.”

But wait, there’s more! The two largest activations of the year for OTK so far, Pixel Pitch sponsored by Ally and OTK Games Expo Presented by Cash App are perfect showcases of what OTK is about. Pixel Pitch, hosting by Asmongold, showed OTK's continued commitment to supporting indie game development, awarding $60,000 to 15 projects, highlighting what makes each game unique by showcasing gameplay and interviewing the developers. On top of that, OTK’s annual game showcase, the OTK Games Expo presented by Cash App, was a major success, featuring 40 indie games and reaching 360,000 concurrent viewers across all streams.

OTK didn’t stop there. Collaborating with Team Liquid and Capcom, OTK dipped their toes into esports with a Street Fighter 6 tournament and revived their popular transmog competition in World of Warcraft in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment.

OTK's 2024 so far is truly incredible and will hopefully be a model that other organizations can learn from. OTK is pushing boundaries in content creation and indie gaming, solidifying their position as a leader in the industry.

👀 Our POV

OTK to me has always been a content powerhouse within media and entertainment. Even when they’re not at the forefront of conversation, the creators and organization still retain such a strong and devoted fanbase.

The list above isn’t even a full rundown of all the things they’ve done this year. I absolutely love how OTK are leveraging their platform – constantly trying new things whilst providing consistent entertainment and maintaining engagement is a difficult balance to strike, yet they’ve found success in it time and time again while bringing their brand partners along for the ride. I can’t wait to see what surprises OTK has coming up next.

- Trinity Nguyen (Private Lobby)

🍔 Whataburger comes to Fortnite

The famous burger chain, Whataburger has entered Fortnite with a new UEFN map called “Breakfast in Bedwars” along with a $25,000 tournament!

The map puts a Whataburger-themed spin on the ever popular game mode “Bedwars” that originated in Minecraft. In the game, four teams of three players each compete to destroy their opponents’ beds while defending their own.

The Tournament

The $25,000 Breakfast in Bedwars tournament will feature many of Fortnite’s top creators, including Fortnite’s biggest streamer, Clix, and World Cup champion, Bugha.

To play the new map, launch Fortnite, and use island code 6619-8313-5969. Throughout gameplay, the tournament will feature iconic Whataburger characters and restaurant items, such as:

👀 Our POV

It's great to see Whataburger join the now massive list of brands launching branded UEFN experiences. Whataburger has done a great job with this activation, leveraging UEFN to create a tentpole moment with their $25,000 Fortnite tournament.

Creating a larger moment/activation out of a branded UEFN map is a way of guaranteeing a baseline level of success, especially with such massive creators involved. A smart play from Whataburger there but it will be interesting to see how well the map can perform outside of the tournament and it's promotion.

- Zach Eller (Private Lobby)

🏃 Summer Games Done Quick 2024

Summer Games Done Quick 2024 (SGDQ) recently wrapped up on July 6, raising over $2.5 million for Doctors without Borders. This latest edition of the charity speedrunning marathon series brings the organization’s lifetime total amount raised to over $51 million!

Over the past 14 years, the Games Done Quick marathons have become a cornerstone of the gaming community, attracting thousands of viewers and consistently leading the charts on Twitch. The biannual events, AGDQ and SGDQ, showcase top-tier speedrunners as they compete across a vast array of games. SGDQ 2024 generated more than 7.5 million hours watched according to SullyGnome, peaking at 83K concurrent viewers.

Meet Peanut Butter, a gaming Shina Ibu that won a game of Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB live at 2024 Summer Games Done Quick. Speedrunner, JSR, and his dog, Peanut Butter, joined the Summer Games Done Quick lineup and attempted to win a game of retro baseball in under 30 minutes.

The result? JSR and Peanut Butter won their game in 29 minutes and 48 seconds after a 2-run walk-off home run, in what was one of the most unique and heartwarming moments in GDQ and Twitch history. The crowd chanting "PB" and "Who's a good boy?" was especially cute.

Games Done Quick continues to be one of the best event hosts in the industry, raising over $50 million for charities thanks to the incredible community they've managed to build. Here's to many more! 🥂

- Zach Eller (Private Lobby)

⚽ Manchester United in Roblox

Manchester United and Club Brugge have done something special for their young fans -- they've released their new 24/25 jerseys in Roblox!

Manchester United and Club Brugge, the 2024 Belgian Pro League Champions, have launched their new jerseys in Roblox, one of the most popular gaming platforms today with over 77 million daily active users.

🔵 Club Brugge

Club Brugge really leaned into and created a moment out of the launch, hosting a shirt unveiling ceremony in a Roblox experience designed as a lounge branded in the club's colors.

The Club Brugge limited edition shirt was offered for free to all members of the club's Young Blues membership. The activation was a huge success with almost 6,000 fans joining the launch ceremony.

🔴 Manchester United

Manchester United partnered with adidas to launch their all new shirts, shorts, and socks in Roblox. Fans can even purchase United’s iconic mascot Fred the Red and place him on their avatar’s shoulder as the ultimate accessory.

adidas also created a unique United Shop within the adidas Outfit Creator experience on Roblox to give United fans a chance to show off their new kit. 👀 

So, why Roblox?

Go where your target audience is. The platform has over 77 million daily active users and is continuing to grow, with the US & Canada still catching up to Europe in daily active users.

Recent data shows that around 60% of Roblox users are under the age of 16, with the largest demographic being 9-12 years old, making up approximately 23% of the total user base. About 42% of daily active users are under 13 years old, while nearly 57% are over 13 years old.

- Zach Eller (Private Lobby)

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Disclaimer: our views are ours and in no way represent those of our employers.