Stevenage FC look to level up with innovative gaming sponsor
Having finished ninth place in their first season back in League One for a decade, Stevenage will look to keep up their impressive momentum, which has seen them go from League Two relegation battlers to League One playoff chasers in two years.
Xsolla noticed Boro’s momentum, a global video game commerce company founded in 2005.
The company partners with video game developers and publishers who embrace monetisation as an essential part of their creative business, using their solutions to reach audience and revenue goals.
Xsolla is not the first gaming sponsor to sponsor Stevenage, with Amazon’s Prime Gaming being the front-of-shirt sponsor between 2021 and 2023, and before this was Burger King, who partnered with the team for the ‘Stevenage Challenge’, a campaign which received 1.2 billion impressions on social media.
So, with the club’s success working with gaming sponsors, Berkley Egenes, Xsolla’s Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, took an interest in the Hertfordshire highflyers.
First impressions
Having attended Stevenage’s opening-day victory against Shrewsbury Town, Berkley highlighted the camaraderie and support Stevenage fans offer.
“Stevenage have an incredibly passionate group of fans committed to supporting the team,” he said.
“To be honest, watching from a U.S. perspective, our fans aren’t like that. It is a constant here because the fans bleed Stevenage FC.
“Everyone’s coming together. It’s neighbours, cousins, relatives, classmates from years ago, all sitting together. We don’t have that in the States, and it was so fun for me to experience.”
English football has received high-profile attention recently from North American investors, and Berkley was keen to express why he wanted Xsolla to team up with Stevenage.
“That type of culture and that type of community is something we believe in.
“We wanted as many of these sponsorship and business meetings as possible to try to get a deal done.
#StevenageFC announce @Xsolla as new Official Gaming & Front of Shirt Partner. ✍️
— Stevenage FC 🔴⚪ (@StevenageFC) July 2, 2024
“We wanted to come to a match and experience it. And it’s 100 percent true what everybody says about the Stevenage community. Our ethos and mission statement is to enjoy the game, and every person from a hospitality perspective to the ticket booth operators, to the merch store and the men and women in hospitality working behind the scenes made our day perfect.
Gaming and the EFL
As Stevenage are a League One club, they will feature in the upcoming EA Sports FC 25 game, released worldwide on the 27th of September.
With Xsolla as the shirt sponsor, they will be front and centre on the game for those who choose to play as Stevenage this season.
“In our office, it’s our top game,” said Berkley.
“It’s in the break room, and we play against each other as Stevenage against Wrexham and Manchester United.
“Gaming is a great way to unwind, and we look forward to getting some consoles into the Stevenage locker room and training facilities as they take a break from the routine. Hopefully, the manager is okay with that!”
What a way to welcome @Xsolla to The Lamex Stadium! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Olp7airhrk
— Stevenage FC 🔴⚪ (@StevenageFC) August 11, 2024
EA agreed on a five-year extension to their pre-existing deal with the EFL in April, which means that the EFL will feature exclusively in EA games, with more than 75 million EFL matches played in-game throughout EA Sports FC 24.
“The new deal EA has negotiated with the EFL is a significant reason we got involved,” Berkley said.
“I sat in the EA booth at Gamescom last month, which is the largest video game show going.
“They had a bleacher set up, and we sat there and watched fans coming together. You could play the new EA Sports FC 25 game, and the global reach of that game is unreal. And for our exposure, it’s fantastic because people saw the publicity from Gamescom and the things we did on the opening weekend, so everybody wanted a kit.
What an amazing time at the IGDA x Xsolla VIP dinner during #gamescom! We loved connecting with you, sharing insights on the new Xsolla Backend, and announcing our partnership with @GameAnalytics. Until next time! https://t.co/EB7aO6OwDL pic.twitter.com/ShjtaLzvET
— Xsolla (@Xsolla) September 6, 2024
“People were coming to me saying: ‘Berkley, I know you have a kit. How do I get one?’ And the line on my list is long.
“Even partners have been asking for shirts, so I’ll have to call the team and place another order. People are so desperate to get involved!”
Future plans
Stevenage and Xsolla have big plans for the future, and Berkley was keen to mention the upcoming season and hopes he will be able to attend more games and give the Stevenage fans something to look forward to on their website.
“We have many more opportunities and programmes, charity-related, gameplay-related, promotional offers that we’re going to do for Stevenage fans on our website, promoting the games we represent worldwide. So you can have opportunities as a Stevenage fan to earn rewards or get a bundle deal. Those are coming very soon, and we’ll see more opportunities.
Incredible way to start the season. Well done! #WeAreStevenage #EnjoytheGame https://t.co/Ha9MrKZh4Y
— Berkley Egenes 🎮 🕹️ (@BerkleyEgenes) August 10, 2024
“And my prediction for Stevenage this season is top ten, maybe even top six. So let’s get in the playoffs, get the ball in the back of the net and make it happen.”
