As brands and marketers flowed into gaming over the past decade, Sportfive experienced the rise in advertising activity firsthand.
Based in Hamburg, Germany, the international sports marketing agency marked the tenth anniversary of its involvement in gaming earlier this year. Sportfive’s gaming department launched in 2016 with three dedicated employees; today, the headcount of Sportfive’s gaming division stands at 80 staffers, reflecting both the significant growth of the agency’s gaming business and the broader rise of gaming as an advertising and marketing channel.
As part of a wider partnership with Electronic Arts, Sportfive is the official sales partner for EA Sports FC, servicing a total of 41 clients across its gaming portfolio in 2026, according to numbers shared by a company representative. In 2020, Sportfive expanded its gaming division by acquiring the German agency Build A Rocket, which advises brands like UberEats and SAP on their interactive media strategy.
“We want to create overarching solutions for brands — not only as a domestic play, not pure U.S. or pure U.K. or Europe, but globally,” said Sportfive president of global esports and gaming Eike Gyllensvärd in an interview with GamesBeat. “This is where we think we can create the best value, because we understand these markets; we have teams in all these markets. We understand how the community works in the U.S. and in Germany, because there are differences, and this is our value proposition.”
To mark its tenth anniversary in gaming, Gyllensvärd and Sportfive vice president of creator, gaming and esports for the Americas Ryan Dow sat down with GamesBeat to share some of the key numbers and insights informing the agency’s gaming strategy in 2026. Here are some of the key takeaways.
The numbers
Over the past decade, Sportfive has closed 410 partnership deals in gaming, according to numbers shared by a company representative. During this period, Sportfive’s clients averaged 73-percent year-over-year growth in annual gross partnership revenue, closing deals from a Visa/Ubisoft partnership to KitKat’s sponsorship of the League of Legends European Championship.
Although Sportfive’s gaming business has grown every year, it still represents a minority of the agency’s overall business. By the end of 2026, Sportfive is aiming for gaming to account for 10 percent of its business, and is on track to hit that goal, per Gyllensvärd.
“There was a dip in 2023 around esports — I think we are all aware — but for us, it wasn’t a neck breaker. We managed this situation very successfully, and went more in the direction of gaming,” he said.
From esports to digital entertainment
As an agency with deep roots in the traditional sports industry, entering gaming via esports was a logical move for Sportfive. In the early days of the company’s foray into gaming, it largely focused on esports, working with competitive gaming teams and leagues to sign sponsorship deals. As hype and investment around esports have subsided in recent years, Sportfive has smartly noted the way the wind is blowing and adjusted accordingly, pivoting from esports to a broader focus on casual gaming and creators — hence the aforementioned EA deal, as well as the addition of “creator” to Dow’s job title in 2023.
“Initially, we partnered with Riot [Games], and there was a focus on esports. But, as you said, there was an evolution, our positioning always needs to be focused,” Gyllensvärd said. “So, we still are in eSports, but we need to move on.”
Integration with traditional sports
Spending more time in gaming has allowed Sportfive to integrate its gaming and sports inventory in creative ways. Gaming fandom and sports fandom are significantly aligned, with 60 percent of gamers enjoying watching professional sports when they aren’t gaming, according to recent research by the agency rEvolution.
“Yes, we have a team of 80 that are all differentiated within our gaming unit — but there are hundreds more that are selling sports every single day,” Dow said in an interview with GamesBeat. “So when we can put an asset like EA FC in front of them, it’s a lot easier for them to say, ‘I understand this, and I can turn around and leverage my broad brand relationships to bring this to life.’”
Future plans
After ten years in gaming, Sportfive isn’t going anywhere. The company plans to continue growing its gaming business year-over-year in the coming decade. As game makers large and small realize the importance of advertising and brand integration revenue, Sportfive intends to continue facilitating deals at the growing intersection of games, sports and advertising.
“What excites me is the unknown of the future of gaming, and what will be popular next. Obviously, there’s a lot of trends that we have our eyes on — but for us, it’s the beauty of coming in every day not knowing what is going to be the next thing to chase,” Dow said. “We have that luxury because we have this incredibly stable foundation.”