Vitality-Bigetron deal points to exit path in SEA esports

Team Vitality, one of Europe’s top esports companies, is acquiring Jakarta-based Bigetron, best known for its dominance in mobile titles like PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

While the financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is one of Southeast Asia’s most notable cross-border esports acquisitions in recent years. The Indonesian company will be rebranded as Bigetron by Vitality, but there will be no changes to its current leadership. 

Edwin Chia, founder and CEO of Bigetron (third from left) and Fabien Devide, co-founder and executive president of Team Vitality (third from right) / Photo credit: Team Vitality

“The idea is not to overrule Bigetron but to help them grow globally,” Danny Engels, corporate director of global operations at Team Vitality, tells Tech in Asia. 

The deal comes as some Southeast Asia’s esports teams fight to stay alive amid a post-Covid slump. Nevertheless, Bigetron’s acquisition could signal a new lifeline or exit route for its peers.

Come and get it

Bigetron founder and CEO Edwin Chia thinks that the region’s esports scene has entered a “consolidation period,” with more Southeast Asian teams open to being acquired.

Founded in 2017, Bigetron quickly rose to prominence after it consecutively won PUBG Mobile world championships in 2019 and 2020. Financially, Chia says Bigetron has remained profitable in recent years, except for a minor loss in 2023 after a regional “esports bubble burst.”

An esports investor in the region sees acquisitions as the most viable exit path for Southeast Asian organizations, especially as it’s “common for smaller teams to struggle just to keep operations running.”

See also: SEA esports startups face survival test amid downturn 

According to Chia, there will be no layoffs or restructuring, and Bigetron will continue operating as usual after the deal. Vitality will also outsource some of its commercial operations in Southeast Asia to Bigetron.

For other esports teams in the region eyeing similar deals, Vitality’s Engels says a single-title presence will not cut it. Global buyers are looking for long-term bets with teams that have real infrastructure and a broader presence across titles like Free Fire and Honor of Kings.

Between 2019 and 2022, many Indonesian esports organizations including Bigetron relied heavily on streaming platform deals, especially from Chinese players like Nimo TV.

These platforms paid esports talent to stream exclusively, with some contracts reportedly reaching up to 800 million rupiah (around US$48,340) per month. Teams typically took a 50% cut.

SEA teams bet on mobile