Nahato, a Japanese marketing company, has entered a business alliance with REJECT, which operates one of Japan’s leading esports teams and also manages affiliated content creators and VTubers (online personalities who stream using animated avatars).
According to the official announcement, the primary objective of this partnership is to give players and streamers more ways to earn money. As part of the deal, Nahato will draw on its social media advertising capabilities, its social commerce platform (online selling tied to social media) and its experience with influencer marketing.
The support will take three main forms. The first is helping streamers and players raise their profile and find collaborations. Nahato plans to use its network of companies in various industries to create business opportunities for REJECT’s players and streamers and to develop a public image suited to each person’s personality and streaming style.
The second is creating income sources beyond streaming. Nahato will use its experience in D2C and P2C sales (D2C means a company selling directly to customers; P2C means an individual selling directly to their fans) to help develop original products. It will also help produce fan events. The companies say this should support long-term careers by reducing reliance on streaming income alone.
The third is a service for game developers. When a game company wants to promote a title and build a fan base, it can use REJECT’s active community together with Nahato’s social media marketing, which relies on data analysis. The companies say this is meant to make marketing spending more effective across the game industry and help the market grow.
Both companies also pointed to a problem in the industry. Esports and game streaming have grown in popularity in recent years, especially among generation Z, and many streamers and professional players are doing well. However, the industry still struggles to offer stable working conditions. Many players depend on tournament prize money and one-off promotional deals, which makes income unpredictable. Many individuals also lack experience in negotiating with companies and in building a personal brand.
Nahato says it has worked with a large number of streamers and creators on video platforms, including Twitch, helping with their promotional activities. The company and REJECT agreed that simply arranging advertising deals is not enough. In their view, it is also important to raise the market value of the people themselves and to help them build a business that can last for years.
While this new deal focuses mainly on the finances of REJECT’s streamers, the organisation has been widening its own revenue base too. It recently started a paid official fan club, which gives fans a way to support the team directly and gives REJECT a new stream of income. Besides that, in August 2026, REJECT announced a partnership with AnyMind Group, a Japan-based technology company, and a few months before that, it renewed its sponsorship-style agreement with Rohto Pharmaceutical, best known for its eye care products.
Taken together, these moves show that REJECT is spreading its income across several sources to build a financially healthy organisation for the long run.
