Business of Esports – MAINGEAR And Shroud Want To Change The Gaming Hardware Space

On November 17th, MAINGEAR announced that it had joined forces with Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek in a deal that will see the famous influencer become a co-owner of the company. Additionally, Shroud has been working with MAINGEAR to release a new line of gaming desktops: the MG-1 and the MG-1: Shroud Edition.

“I am joining MAINGEAR because I truly believe that anyone who is serious about gaming owes it to themselves to invest in top-tier equipment,” Shroud said. “It’s one of the best purchases you can make. MAINGEAR has always been a leader in performance systems, and I’m excited to work with them to make products that are even better, stronger, and more accessible to gamers everywhere. It was already great, but I’m excited to show gamers what we’ve been working on.”

Over the last 12 months, Shroud has worked with MAINGEAR to create new experiences for PC gamers. That starts with the MAINGEAR MG-1 desktop computer, which was designed in collaboration with Shroud. Meanwhile, the MG-1: Shroud Edition desktop comes with custom configurations.

Pre-built MG-1 systems are available now for a starting price of $1,449. Customized MG-1 computers will cost an extra $50.

If you are interested in learning more about these products, click here.

The Profit‘s Take:

This feels like the next evolution of influencer activations. You start out with simple things like gaming mice and keyboards and eventually work your way up to $3,000 desktops and PCs. We have now seen two very different business models with regards to influencers and pre-built PCs. In this case, it seems like Shroud is getting paid to license his name on PCs that MAINGEAR is already building. Meanwhile, OTK recently acquired an existing PC builder and absorbed it under the company’s umbrella (using the Starforge brand). My opinion is that the Shroud deal is definitely better, especially in the short term. gaming PCs are totally commoditized hardware, and the margins are razor thin. OTK is a media business so actually building and fulfilling custom gaming PCs feels like a distraction. Imagine all the customer support headaches as well. With the Shroud deal, all he has to do is collect checks every month and use the product. There’s zero risk for him. I suspect OTK will never make a significant profit from their PC brand, while Shroud only has upside with his deal.

(All information was provided by <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/11/17/2558637/0/en/Award-Winning-PC-Builder-MAINGEAR-and-gaming-Icon-shroud-Join-Forces-to-Shake-Up-gaming-Hardware-Industry.html”>GlobeNewswire)