Advertising Deals of Dota 2 Teams in 2024–2025: A New Brand Era in Esports

Over the past year, the Dota 2 esports scene has witnessed a significant evolution in how professional teams engage with commercial partners. Sponsorships have matured into complex brand alliances that go beyond simple visibility. In 2024–2025, organisations are forging creative deals with tech firms, betting companies, energy drink producers, and even Web3 platforms. These collaborations reflect not only financial interests but also a changing approach to content creation, community development, and long-term sustainability within esports.

New Sponsors in Dota 2: Concrete Cases and Brand Expansion

In 2024–2025, Dota 2 teams experienced a significant shift in sponsorship dynamics, marked by a surge of brand collaborations beyond traditional gaming circles. Notable examples include Team Spirit’s continued alliance with Red Bull, which now extends to joint event activations and exclusive team content. BetBoom, a major betting brand, reinforced its sponsorship of Virtus.pro, integrating predictive stats and branded match overlays in broadcasts. Meanwhile, Team Falcons, a rising Middle Eastern organisation, partnered with hardware giant ASUS ROG, promoting top-tier gear through regional tournaments and live bootcamps.

Consumer electronics and energy drinks remained dominant sponsors, but new verticals emerged too. Gaimin Gladiators secured a multi-event deal with Monster Energy, featuring branded in-game observer graphics and offline promotional tours. On the tech side, OG reactivated its collaboration with SteelSeries, incorporating product giveaways and behind-the-scenes content showcasing players’ gear setups. This multifaceted exposure benefits both teams and sponsors seeking authentic reach within core esports demographics.

Such partnerships not only provide vital funding for team operations and bootcamp logistics, but also enable content co-creation. A striking example is Tundra Esports’ deal with cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which included a branded mini-documentary series following the squad’s DPC journey. By 2025, sponsorships are no longer merely logo placements — they are immersive brand storytelling ventures.

Changing Nature of Brand Involvement

The nature of sponsorship has shifted from passive visibility to interactive collaboration. Brands now demand measurable fan engagement and narrative depth, especially via social media. Influencer activations, giveaways, and documentary-style campaigns are increasingly common deliverables in contracts, elevating the expectations for content quality and frequency.

Furthermore, esports organisations must now act as media producers, not just competitive units. Teams that fail to offer engaging content packages struggle to maintain high-value sponsorships. This evolution places a premium on digital storytelling talent within organisations, blending esports, marketing, and media expertise.

Such expectations are reshaping the sponsorship pitch: it’s not only about tournament results, but community impact, brand affinity, and content ROI. Brands aim for cultural relevance, and teams need to provide authentic, non-generic channels to achieve this.

New Partnership Formats: NFT, Web3 and Cyber Academies

The sponsorship landscape in Dota 2 is also being influenced by technological innovation. NFT and Web3 partnerships are gaining traction, offering fans digital collectibles, team-specific tokens, and gamified engagement layers. For example, OG launched their “OG Collectibles” on the Chiliz platform, allowing fans to earn exclusive rewards through fan token purchases and voting events.

Another novel format is the rise of cyber academies backed by brands. BetBoom, beyond sponsorship, co-founded a youth-focused esports academy with Virtus.pro, providing hardware, coaching, and a direct talent pipeline to the pro scene. This model combines grassroots development with long-term brand loyalty and educational positioning.

Moreover, data-driven fan engagement platforms are becoming integral. Team Liquid piloted a loyalty app, offering tiered rewards for match viewing and social interaction, sponsored by Coinbase. This mix of gamification and Web3 monetisation reflects an expanding toolkit for team-brand synergies in 2025.

Strategic Value of Emerging Formats

These formats serve a dual function: they diversify revenue streams for organisations and offer brands more immersive fan engagement. NFTs, for instance, enable perpetual royalties through resale markets, creating long-tail monetisation beyond the sponsorship term. For fans, digital collectibles provide community identity and exclusive access, deepening their loyalty.

Cyber academies play a more foundational role. Brands investing in talent cultivation are rewarded with sustained visibility and credibility. These initiatives also align with broader CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) goals, making them appealing to mainstream sponsors wary of betting or crypto affiliations.

Ultimately, these formats show that esports is no longer reliant solely on short-term cash injections. Strategic partnerships that nurture ecosystems and communities are shaping the future of the Dota 2 commercial sphere.

Profitability and Commercial Impact for Teams

Sponsorships remain the most critical non-prize income source for Dota 2 organisations. In 2024, a Tier 1 team could generate between $1.5M and $4M annually from brand deals, depending on tournament success and content delivery. These earnings often exceed prize money, particularly for teams not consistently placing top-three in major events.

Teams like Gaimin Gladiators and BetBoom Team have leveraged their recent competitive momentum into multi-sponsor rosters. Merchandising, event activations, and digital content monetisation – often facilitated by sponsors – provide essential operational runway, covering salaries, bootcamps, travel, and content production staff.

Even mid-tier teams benefit from sponsor diversification. With more brands entering the scene, competition for team slots rises, allowing organisations to negotiate better terms or multi-brand structures. For example, Entity fields both a tech sponsor (ViewSonic) and a regional telco (MTN), diversifying risk and exposure simultaneously.

Transparency and ROI for Sponsors

Sponsors today demand data-backed transparency: social impressions, brand sentiment, CTRs on content, and activation reach are standard KPIs. Teams that fail to deliver detailed reporting risk deal renewals. As a result, analytics and CRM tools are now standard components of esports sponsorship operations.

Some teams use third-party platforms like Shikenso Analytics or Stream Hatchet to quantify brand exposure during matches. These tools provide value not only to sponsors but also help teams benchmark performance against competitors, informing future sponsorship pitches.

In this data-centric environment, the ROI narrative has become central. Teams must justify every dollar spent by a brand. Consequently, professionalism and accountability in sponsorship execution have become industry norms — a sign of esports’ commercial maturation in 2025.