eFuse postpones Creator League amid layoffs, community NFT backlash

Esports company eFuse has announced the postponement of the Creator League amid layoffs at the company and fan backlash.

eFuse is a software development company in esports that has its hands in news, Esports.gg, esports broadcasting, eRena, and streaming with their ‘Sidekick’ app. The company announced its Creator League on September 2, which was set to feature multiple high-profile creators including IShowSpeed and Bella Poarch, among others.

The league was supposed to feature eight creator-managed teams that would compete against each other in a wide range of esports and competitive gaming titles across a 7-month season.

The league came under fire after its announcement, however, as its association with cryptocurrency and NFTs came to light. The revelation saw one of the league’s biggest attached creators, CDawgVA, say he is pulling out of the competition as he agreed to join while “not fully understanding the tech behind it.”

So I'll just be real with you guys, I accepted to join the creator league not fully understanding the tech behind it. Needless to say, with the current information available I'm planning on withdrawing.

I was not told or made aware at any point that there was Blockchain…

— Connor (@CDawgVA) September 3, 2023

On September 5, many eFuse employees announced that they were no longer with the company. Now, the league has been postponed, according to an announcement from eFuse.

eFuse announces Creator League postponement as company goes through layoffs

The company has laid off 30% of its staff, about 30 people, eFuse told Dexerto. The layoffs have hit multiple departments of the business, including their social media and design teams, as well as multiple people involved in running tournaments and production behind the scenes.

Found out today, I'm also among the layoffs at @eFuse.

5 years of @CollegeCoD. It was a good run; I don't regret a moment of it. Shoutout to every member of the CCL team, would work with any of them in a heartbeat.

That said, I'm LFW, contract or Full-time. DM me for resume.

— CCL Jacen (@sonofpaint) September 5, 2023

Some of the company’s collegiate tournament admins for College COD and College Carball, which were acquired by the company in 2021, were also let go.

After almost 2 years I was laid off from @eFuse today.

I am LFW in Team Operations, Project Management, and primarily Tournament Organization.

I have 5 years of experience working across College VALORANT, College CoD, and Influencer events.

Open to contract or full time

— 🔥 Heat 🔥 (@HeatVW) September 5, 2023

The most high-profile employee part of this round of layoffs is James ‘Ritzy’ Bevins, who was the Director of Social at eFuse. He worked at the company for over four years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“eFuse, the esports software company operating Creator League today announces the project’s postponement, and consequently an organization-wide restructuring after launching Sept 2nd,” a statement provided to Dexerto by eFuse said.

The CEO of eFuse, Matthew Benson, said in the statement that the company remains excited about the Creator League. The company also addressed its association with NEAR, a blockchain network, and its connection to cryptocurrency.

After 4+ years building @eFuse and our Social Media/Marketing team from the ground up, my time has come to an end.

Determined to make an impact more than ever, I’m looking for a new opportunity in
– Social Media
– Marketing
– Project Management
– Content Strategy
– Community…

— Ritzy 👑 (@RitzyYaps) September 5, 2023

“Per recent feedback on the creator league launch, the company is also clarifying that the NEAR blockchain is being used to validate data and log information relating to the community passes. All passes are purchased in USD and therefore, no cryptocurrency is being purchased. Additionally, the company states the Creator League community passes are not considered NFTs nor a token launch because they had no transfer utility, which means there is no ability to resell,” the company said.

Shawn Pavel, the Vice President of Engineering for eFuse, apologized on behalf of the company for not disclosing their use of the blockchain within the Creator League.

“To be clear, the Creator League is not an NFT project and we have never sold tokens,” Pavel said.

eFuse also said fans who purchased community passes will still get to participate in an open Fortnite tournament hosted by the company. Updates to the Creator League schedule will come in the following weeks, according to the statement.

There are currently serious doubts about eFuse’s viability as a company following these layoffs, but sources have told Dexerto that a large funding round is expected in the near future. Esports has been in a rough spot as an industry, as multiple organizations and companies have folded and investment money from private equity and other sources has dried up.