Guild Esports . Regulatory News (GILD)

Press release

21 August 2023

Guild Esports PLC

("Guild Esports", "Guild", or "the Company")

Guild expands Counter-Strike presence with men's team

Guild Esports PLC (LSE: GILD; OTCQB: GULDF), a global gaming-focused media business, is pleased to announce it will be fielding a second professional team to compete in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ("Counter-Strike"), a team-based, first-person shooter.

The new team, which will compete under the Guild banner, is Guild's first entry into men's Counter-Strike esports. The team will comprise five players, plus coaching staff, with the Company to announce its roster in due course. The announcement follows the launch of Guild's all-female Counter-Strike team on 8 March 2023.

Counter-Strike is among the world's most popular esports, with an audience that is continuing to grow. The Paris Major in March 2023, among Counter-Strike's most competitive tournaments, had an average viewership of 507,688 across its 116 hours of airtime, peaking at 1,528,724 concurrent viewers (source: Esports Charts, 2023).

In March 2023, Counter-Strike's developer, Valve, announced the upcoming launch of Counter-Strike 2, a ground-up overhaul of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive experience. Valve had not made significant changes of this scale to Counter-Strike since the launch of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2012. The approaching launch of Counter-Strike 2 has reinvigorated community interest in both the game and its esports ecosystem. Alongside this announcement, Valve has announced new requirements to the competitive Counter-Strike ecosystem which are expected to significantly reduce the entry costs associated with some of the top tier men's tournaments.

Following these announcements from Valve, and the positive reception of Guild's all-female Counter-Strike team, the Directors of the Company believe now is an opportune moment for Guild to enter men's Counter-Strike, to capitalise on the increasing audience engagement and lower barriers to entry.

The Company has identified multiple sponsorship and revenue-generation opportunities as a result of the new team, as Counter-Strike has more permissive policies on advertising compared with other esports. The funding to launch the team has been provided by multiple sources, including a national esports federation.

Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, said: "Counter-Strike is an iconic esport, with an immense fanbase and more than ten years after launching it continues to grow in popularity. Our entry into the men's competitions, underscored by the impending launch of Counter-Strike 2, aligns perfectly with our vision to consistently elevate our brand's presence on a global scale. Following the outstanding reception to our all-female Counter-Strike team earlier this year, we're eager to further tap into this burgeoning market, seizing the myriad of sponsorship and revenue opportunities it presents."

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About Guild Esports:

Guild Esports PLC is a global gaming-focused media business that fields professional players in gaming competitions under the Guild banner. Our in-house training academy aims to attract and nurture the best esports talent, and our goal is to provide the ultimate entertainment experience alongside a distinctive lifestyle brand authentic to the esports community worldwide. Guild is led by an experienced management team of entertainment sector and esports veterans and co-owned by David Beckham. The Company is headquartered in the UK and its shares are listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: GILD) and on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States (ticker: GULDF). Please visit www.guildesports.com for more information.