FaZe Clan has long straddled the line between being a creator-led media powerhouse and a serious contender in the world of esports, to a level that few organizations in the space can truly challenge. The Esports Radar spoke with FaZe Clan President Erik Anderson, who offered rare insight into how the organisation structures itself behind the scenes — and why the media and esports divisions are becoming more distinct than ever.
“There’s actually more kind of formal separation, almost even from a P&L [profit & loss statement] standpoint,” Anderson explained. “And it works because the media side is much more creator driven, and able to be nimble around creative projects. And the esports side can be much more partnership driven and built around the structure that’s existing right now.
“Historically speaking, though, esports, the competitive side and the competitive fandom for the brand, are things that the guys, the founders, always really supported and wanted to continue to cultivate and grow.”
That structural split is a far cry from FaZe’s early days, where the lines between content and competition were blurred by design, fully immersed in the Call of Duty world across both content and competitive. Yet, the organisation’s long-term vision has always hinged on the merging of both, pioneered through founding members like Thomas “Temperrr” Oliveira, Richard “Banks” Bengtson and Yousef “Apex” Abdelfattah.
“They also saw a future years ago that was built around people that want to be kids with a camera as a career, and the esports being the stuff that they were playing competitively,” he said. “They always saw this space and the future of where it was going. And they’ve honestly been right, you know, I’d say 90% of it.”
Organic or engineered engagement?
While many organisations have turned to data-driven strategies to convert casual fans into esports viewers, FaZe takes a more intuitive approach. They rely on organic brand recognition, rather than wanting to force fans of Twitch stars like Nick “Lacy” Fosco and Rani “StableRonaldo” Mach to become fans of their Counter-Strike or Call of Duty teams.
“We’re not sitting in a war room talking about how we’re going to get conversions on people,” Anderson said. “Organic love of something is just worth infinitely more than a forced or paid for, like conceptual meaning.”
This philosophy comes to life in FaZe’s relationships with creators like “Kaysan” Ghassemineja.
“The kid legitimately loves esports and it’s not a show, it’s not whatever. And he also hangs out on that [creator] side,” Anderson said. “If it rubs off on them and they want to come: cool. If they want to co-stream then cool and we’ll be there to support.”
How FaZe manages brand partnerships
FaZe’s structure does help creative flexibility but also brings its own challenges when it comes to commercial partnerships — particularly when it comes to packaging brand partnerships.
“The creator side is this interesting umbrella structure where a lot of the creators have their own individual businesses. So it gets really tricky when you start amassing that and trying to sell it as a piecemeal kind of thing,” Anderson said.
That led FaZe to take a more cautious approach when pitching the brand.
“I kind of joke with people like, you know, it’s what you get with FaZe. If you don’t know what you’re signing up for, we’re probably not the right partner for you. If you do know, then come along with us for the ride,” he added.
Despite the internal separation, FaZe remains bullish on making the whole ecosystem work in harmony — even when overlapping partners compete. In one recent stretch, the organisation juggled energy drink deals with GFuel, Monster, and no energy partner at all across its various divisions.
“At one point, FaZe Esports didn’t have energy drinks. FaZe Media had GFuel, and Atlanta FaZe had Monster,” Anderson explained. “It wasn’t a long period, but it kind of shows you that it can work.”
Esports still matters
While FaZe’s mainstream visibility often comes from its influencers and viral moments, the competitive side remains a serious pillar of the business. From Call of Duty to Smash and Counter-Strike, the brand has stayed active in top-tier esports, often driven simply by passion.
“That’s why we’re in Smash. We’re in Smash because the guy’s just love playing Smash. And so that’s the same thing with Counter-Strike, Call of Duty,” Anderson said.
He added, speaking about the founders: “They have always cared. Sometimes your personal life, or your personal interests, take you in different directions,” Anderson noted. “I would say that they are probably more into esports stuff right now than they have been in a minute.”
That authenticity has helped FaZe maintain credibility with esports audiences even as the content side has ballooned in size.
While their roots are in Call of Duty, and the Atlanta FaZe continue to excel in the Call of Duty League, the Counter-Strike team has had bouts of dominance and, more recently, have brought in one of the all-time greats, Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev, to to help them reach the next level once again.
While there is clearly a divide between the media and esports sides of FaZe, that separation in many ways is an advantage for the organisation – and with both sides thriving, there may well be a new era of FaZe Clan superiority on the horizon.
