London-based esports firm ELO Agency announced Tuesday that industry veteran Joost van Dreunen has joined a strategic advisor.
The firm said in its announcement that this new appointment “strengthens the company’s mission to empower gaming communities globally through its agency and venture activities.”
In this new role, Joost will support ELO in developing insights for game studio clients to understand the impact of community empowerment.
Van Dreunen, described as “games industry economist,” has been featured in Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Forbes, and is also the author of “One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games.” He also teaches at NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Van Dreunen is also the founder of data intelligence firm Aldora.io, and was previously the co-founder and CEO of SuperData Research—which was acquired by Nielsen in 2018— and publishes a weekly newsletter on gaming, tech, and entertainment called SuperJoost Playlist.
“The games business is at an inflection point,” said Joost van Dreunen. “The $220B global games market is under pressure as publishers cut costs and traditional growth stalls. The future of gaming will be defined by community-led innovation and new publishing models. ELO is at the forefront of this shift. I’m excited about ELO’s mission and am keen to contribute my perspective on data and economics to support their vision.”
Launched in April 2024, ELO Agency aims to help game developers, esports teams, sports clubs, and other companies interested in the competitive gaming landscape with event management solutions that “streamline the complex process of esports events planning and execution.”