As Complexity’s run at IEM Sydney continues, more questions than their Counter-Strike team’s quality have arisen. Their parent company, GameSquare, has formally announced plans to acquire the FaZe Clan brand, putting the two storied North American organizations under one roof. The next challenge for GameSquare as a business is navigating the conflict of interest question.
Both FaZe Clan and Complexity operate in the same “partnered,” or quasi-franchised leagues. The big overlap comes in both BLAST and ESL’s partnered Counter-Strike leagues, Rocket League, and 343 Industries’ Halo Infinite. As a general rule in any serious sporting venture, conflicts of interest, like owning two teams that compete against each other, are disallowed. In both the distant and recent past, conflicts of interest have plagued esports competitions, and have gone both punished and unpunished for varying reasons.
A source close to Complexity said, “The details around Complexity and FaZe esports are being worked out — today’s announcement is the signing of an agreement but there’s still a lot to determine until the deal closes in the next 60-90 days or so,” giving an indication that the company intends to abide by conflict of interest rules. What this means for their players, coaches, and support staff remains to be seen.
Fans have been giddy about the original FaZe Clan owners returning and the prospect of the Complexity influencers crossing over with the red and black side. The question for the future becomes what happens to the pair of organizations’ rosters in each esport following the formal acquisition. Do they stick with the Complexity or FaZe Clan core in their titles? Or will the publishers and leagues cave and allow two teams with one paycheck signer to compete? ESL and BLAST declined to comment on their plans for the two brands.
