E-sports has been a fast-growing market in Germany for years and, with its young target group, is one of the most exciting platforms for advertisers. It's not just Fortuna that plays in the virtual German Bundesliga, Düsseldorf is also a sought-after venue for international gaming tournaments. More and more companies are playing digitally themselves – as a team-building exercise and for recruiting.

The e-team of Fortuna Düsseldorf: Coach Corvin ‘Deter’ Deterding, players Joe ‘JH7’ Hellmann and Kai ‘Hensoo’ Hense and content creator Jan ‘Packsi’ Dreker. (from left to right) Not in the picture: e-player Michael ‘Deos’ Haan.

Fortuna has been in the (e-)game for a long time: In the 2023/24 season, the Düsseldorf football club took part for the first time in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL), which is compulsory for all German 1st and 2nd division teams. The so-called club championship is played in the video game EA Sports FC 24 on PlayStation 5 and is divided into two divisions: North-West and South-East. Three e-athletes represent Fortuna on the console, including first-time participant Kai 'Hensoo' Hense, a huge F95 fan who not only identifies with the club as a gamer but is also a dedicated gamer himself. Content creator and Fortuna fan Jan 'Packsi' Dreker comments on the games on Fortuna's official Twitch channel, which launched in September 2022, streams content live and engages directly with the F95 community - authenticity and proximity are key pillars of e-sports. “The games streamed on Twitch generate a lot of reach and open up a new, young, digitally savvy target group for Fortuna. E-sports is exciting not only for the authentic dialogue with fans, but also as a platform for existing and new advertising partners,“ says Sandro Calabruso, responsible for e-sports and gaming at Fortuna. Fortuna has been able to attract sponsors for the gaming sector such as software and hardware manufacturer Nacon and AOK. In addition to the VBL subsidy of 75,000 Euro from the DFL, the club was already profitable in its first e-season. In terms of play, the club is in the digital midfield: in its first season in the Northwest Division, Fortuna played against the likes of 1. FC Köln, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund and finished 9th out of 18 in the table with its e-players.

„The games streamed on Twitch generate a lot of reach and open up a new, young, digitally savvy target group for Fortuna.“

Gamification and Recruting

The enthusiastic e-sports target group is not only interesting for companies for advertising purposes, but also for recruiting and team building. The Werksliga - the first continuous e-sports and gaming league for companies in DACH - focuses on the emotions of gaming. The Werksliga was founded by Stefanie Waschk, Arne Gels of the Düsseldorf-based consultancy and gamification agency Fusion Campus and TaKeTV. Companies provide their own Werkself (team of players), which can be supplemented by e-sports talents who apply for a place on the team - they are also potential candidates for positions within the company. The first official Werksliga season kicked off in October 2023, with companies such as GroupM, Medion, Ubisoft Düsseldorf and Infosys taking part. A total of three seasons will be played online each year, culminating in a grand final tournament day for the best teams from across Germany. Every week, two matches are broadcast live in the company's own sports programme 'Die Werksliga'. One company that is already positioning itself as an employer in the gaming industry is DZ Bank, which plays in the Werksliga with 50% employees and 50% applicants. For Melanie Steinmetz, HR Officer at DZ Bank and responsible for the Corporate Finance department in Düsseldorf, banking and e-sports are a perfect match: "We take an incredible number of elements from the Werksliga, combining gaming and recruiting. The principle: you play together, gain initial experience with the potential new employer and find direct access without much effort.”

Gaming as a recruiting tool: The Düsseldorf-based company Fusion Campus has launched the Werksliga.

E-Sports Live

Companies are not the only ones taking advantage of the gaming hype, local promoters such as D.LIVE are also focusing on e-sports events. “There is a growing enthusiasm in the sector for new event formats such as live streaming events. Our venues are multifunctional and can be used with maximum flexibility. We can therefore dynamically adapt them to the requirements of these formats,” says Jele Schuh, Senior Manager Booking D.LIVE. Last August, for example, the PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf hosted the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), the tournament of one of the world's most popular e-sports leagues, with more than 10,000 fans travelling from all over the world. In addition to the three sold-out days of the main event in the Dome, an average of 150,000 viewers watched the action live from home. The live stream of the Rocket League channel on Twitch even reached a peak of almost 500,000 live viewers for the grand finale. A huge audience for Düsseldorf, which will also be hosting Euro 2024. The European Championship is predestined for e-sports events in the city. The e-sports tournament 11vs11 is being developed for the fan zone on Burgplatz together with the Solingen-based agency 'E-Sport Manager'. The 'Final Four' will bring the four best e-football clubs from the Lower Rhine Football Association onto the European stage. The Düsseldorf City Libraries are also organising a major eSports tournament for young participants aged between 14 and 25 for UEFA Euro 2024. The final will take place on 25 May in the Central Library and will be streamed live. Meanwhile, spectators will also have the opportunity to compete against e-sports professionals - the three e-sports stars of Fortuna Düsseldorf.•

With team spirit to the final: The DZ Bank team at the first Werksliga season.

Words: Karolina Landowski
Pictures: F95/David Matthäus, Werksliga

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