Nimble Neuron to promote Eternal Return with Gen.G

Video game developer Nimble Neuron has tapped esports organization Gen.G to promote its survival game Eternal Return.

The basics: This isn't a typical partnership between an esports org and a game developer.

• The "first of its kind" agreement will last for two years, though financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed at the time of publication.
• The core aim of the partnership is for Eternal Return to be promoted to Gen.G's audience, which is split between North America and South Korea.
• Gen.G will also work with Nimble Neuron to help develop an esports strategy for the game, host local activations for the game's Korean community, and expose itself to a new audience (the Eternal Return player base). The game is available through Steam and the Windows store.

The difference: Esports organizations and game developers have worked together for years.

• The traditional partnership between these two types of companies can be seen in Riot Games' League of Legends competitions and Activision Blizzard's franchised leagues, for example.
• Esports teams and developers often work together to provide the team with a long-term position in a popular competition, with the former normally having to pay millions of dollars to the latter for the opportunity.
• "We're taking what a partnership has traditionally meant in the esports space and flipping it on its head," said Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur of the company's deal with Nimble Neuron.
• An additional unique facet of the arrangement is the Eternal Return Collegiate Club Program, a collaborative program that will bring together students to compete in Eternal Return tournaments against each other.