The Esports Awards announced Wednesday that its sponsorship deal with luxury car maker Lexus will continue with the second part of its annual awards focused on honoring the esports industry–the first half of the awards were given out this summer as part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Financial terms of this continued partnership were not disclosed, and Lexus appears to be unphased by the controversy surrounding the Esports Awards’ decision to sign a three-year agreement with the Saudi government-backed Esports World Cup Foundation earlier this year.
Under the terms of this renewed partnership, Lexus will be presenting the winners of “Esports Content Creator of the Year and “Esports Organization of Year” awards.
In previous years Lexus has also shown off new custom car models during the show, and the company is expected to do so again this year, though what specific offerings it plans to showcase were not revealed, as of this writing.
In addition, Lexus branding will appear at the physical venue, on social media channels, and during broadcasts on various streaming platforms. Other collaborative marketing efforts are likely planned, but were not disclosed. Finally, Lexus will operate the Lexus Lounge, which will also serve as the red carpet, the space for the Esports Awards Glambot and be a focal point of other activities and activations.
Lexus joins Oakley, Esports World Cup Foundation, and another Saudi government-owned initiative, Qiddiya, as key sponsors for the 2024 Esports Awards. The second leg of the Esports Awards will take place Nov. 21.
Categories that fans can vote on include Esports Content Creator of the Year, Esports team of the Year, Esports PC Player of the Year, Esports Controller Player of the Year, Sim Racer of the Year, Esports Organization of the Year, Esports Coach of the Year, Esports Supporting Service of the Year, Esports Live Event of the Year, Esports Broadcast & Production Team of the Year, Esports Color Caster of the Year, Esports Play-by-Play Caster of the Year, and Esports Host of the Year. The Esports Journalist of the Year has been removed from this year’s slate of categories. Voting for these categories is available on the official Esports Awards website.
The Esports Awards and the company’s mobile gaming awards the Mobies will be part of PWR UP Week presented by MEGA in Los Angeles. PWR Up is a one day conference featuring panels and talks focused on the esports and gaming ecosystems. Also part of the week-long slate of events will be the Esports Awards Open presented by GGC and hosted at the Oak Creek Golf Course. Earlier this year when the Esports Awards announced its plans to host the first part of the awards in Riyadh, the company said that it would host an in-person event in London.
The Esports Awards has experienced a fair share of backlash from the public in 2024, including a number of prominent content creators and journalists, for its decision to sign a three-year deal with the Saudi government-funded gaming and esports festival organizer the Esports World Cup Foundation. While the company suggested that it would host the awards in London and award journalist of the year during that second event, the category was ultimately removed without any formal public announcement. Esports Awards President Mike Ashford told The Esports Advocate at the end of September that additional announcements were forthcoming:
“Our intention is to offer the Journalist of the Year award recognising and celebrating Journalists after consultation with previous nominees, winners, and other key stakeholders within the industry,” said Mike Ashford. “This has delayed the announcement. We are expecting an announcement on location next week and exploring opportunities that have been presented to us to present the show in the best way and format possible.”
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government such as Qiddiya and Esports World Cup have been criticized for helping the government engage in “sports washing,” or using various forms of sport and entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.