North American scholastic and collegiate esports company PlayVS recently acquired youth esports development platform Vanta Esports for an undisclosed amount.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
In its announcement, PlayVS claims that this acquisition will add 3,000 K–12 schools to the PlayVS network ecosystem and reinforce its position as “the most comprehensive competitive gaming and education ecosystem.” PlayVS will also deploy Vanta’s “youth-safe, COPPA-compliant esports platform” across its ecosystem to support “organized competition, expert coaching, educator enablement, and clear pathways for student growth, development, and advancement.”
“Vanta has built an exceptional, education-focused platform rooted in coaching, mentorship, and safe competition,” said Jon Chapman, CEO of PlayVS. “By bringing our organizations together, we can expand access for more students, provide greater support for educators, and better serve schools and communities nationwide. Our mission has always been to unlock the positive power of gaming, including teamwork, leadership, confidence, and problem-solving, and this expansion allows us to deliver that impact at significantly greater scale.”
In case you are not familiar with it, Vanta Esports describes itself as coaching-led model that connects youth players with trained and vetted esports coaches who lead team practices and one-on-one sessions focused on strategy, teamwork, communication, and holistic skill development.
The acquisition of Vanta follows PlayVS launch of its North American collegiate esports league, PlayVS College League (PCL), in July. This followed several major acquisitions in the collegiate and scholastic esports spaces in April including Generation Esports, the owner of scholastic esports leagues High School Esports League (HSEL) and Middle School Esports League (MSEL); and Playfly Esports, a division of collegiate sports company Playfly.
While some are celebrating this acquisition and view it as another puzzle piece in continuing to make scholastic, collegiate, and grassroots esports a more sustainable space, others are concerned that it takes options off the table for some groups who used to rely on Vanta’s suite of products and services to support their efforts. For example, Davin Jackson, CEO of Atlanta-based Alpha Esports & Technology, pointed out how this new deal affects him and his community directly on social media: