Envy Gaming, Inc was a collective esports and gaming company. It was originally founded in 2007 by Tosh "Stainville" Mcgruder and Skyler "Foreplayy" Johnson as a ''

Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold War, futuristic ...

'' esports team known as Team EnVyUs. Envy Gaming, LLC was formed in October 2012 and incorporated as Envy Gaming, Inc in May 2016. The company owned and operated several esports teams, including Team Envy, the Dallas Fuel of the

Overwatch League The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game '' Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting l ...

, and the OpTic Texas of the

Call of Duty League The Call of Duty League (CDL) is a professional esports league for the video game series ''Call of Duty'', produced by its publisher Activision. The Call of Duty League follows the model of the Overwatch League as well as other traditional No ...

with

OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming is an American professional eSports, esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The organization currently operates a ''Call of Duty'' team in the Call of Duty League, OpTic Texas, they also operate a ''O ...

. In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully become OpTic Gaming.

History

2007–2016

Envy Gaming was originally founded by Tosh "Stainville" Mcgruder and Skyler "Foreplayy" Johnson as a professional '' Call of Duty 4'' team in 2007, known as Team EnVyUs. The team brought on Mike "Hastr0" Rufail in 2009 as a team member; Rufail would eventually become the team's owner. Envy Gaming,

LLC A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

was officially established in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

on October 31, 2012. The company was officially incorporated on May 25, 2016, as Envy Gaming, Inc.

2017–2022

After a reportedly million investment from

Hersh Interactive Group Kenneth A. Hersh (born 1963) is an American businessman and financier. He is the former chairman and CEO of NGP Energy Capital Management (NGP), a private equity firm based in Texas. He is the CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Da ...

in September 2017, Envy Gaming relocated their headquarters from Charlotte, North Carolina to Dallas, Texas. The deal also allowed Envy to purchase the Dallas-based

franchise spot for an estimated million, making them one of twelve teams competing in the league's inaugural season. Envy Gaming filled the roster by transferring all of the members and staff from the ''Overwatch'' team of Team EnVyUs, which officially ended EnVyUs' ''Overwatch'' division. On October 5, 2017, the Dallas-based franchise name was revealed as the Dallas Fuel. On June 28, 2018, Envy Gaming hired former COO for the

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Gran ...

(COTA) and EVP of sales and marketing for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

Geoff Moore as its first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

and COO. Envy established their second franchised team in May 2019 with the purchase of a slot for

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

's ''Call of Duty'' League for a reported million. The team's name, Dallas Empire, and branding were revealed on October 19 and chosen as a callback to the organization's roots. In October 2019, Envy Gaming established their headquarters and training facility at Victory Park in Dallas. The will include space dedicated to team training, content creation, player development, and wellness training. On July 9, 2020, Envy Gaming appointed that Adam Rymer as the company's new CEO, replacing founder and owner Mike Rufail. In November 2021, it was announced that Envy Gaming would acquire the

brand as part of a merger. OpTic Gaming leader Hector "HECZ" Rodriguez joined the combined companies' ownership group and was to serve as President of OpTic Gaming. This also brought the OpTic Texas roster for Activision Blizzard's

into the Envy family. In January 2022, Envy Gaming acquired the operating contract for Esports Stadium Arlington, an esports facility located in Arlington, Texas, from Esports Venues LLC. In June 2022, it was announced Envy Gaming would retire the Envy brand, and fully become OpTic Gaming. The Envy Foundation, a grant program helping North Texas middle schools and high schools, became the OpTic Foundation. Team Envy's content creators and ''

Rocket League ''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, ...

'' team were rebranded to OpTic Gaming, while the Dallas Fuel team remained as is.

Investors

Envy Gaming acquired several investors in 2017. In March, it was revealed that prior to becoming chief business officer of Team Envy, John Brock had invested a seven-figure sum into the team. Months later, in September, Team Envy owner Mike Rufail confirmed that the organization had secured a reportedly million investment from

. The deal entailed Hersh serving as strategic partners to the organization, whilst Rufail would remain as the principal owner and operator of the team. Two months later,

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker p ...

High Roller winner

Fedor Holz Fedor Holz (born 25 July 1993) is a German professional poker player, originally from Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) ac ...

invested in Envy Gaming to become a minority owner. In July 2018, Preston Arsement, known as the YouTube personality PrestonPlayz, joined Envy Gaming as an investor and content creator. In January 2019, Envy announced it had raised million in external capital; they did not reveal the identity of the investors and only described them as "a mix of prominent local investors and Texas families, as well as a select set of national investors." In August 2020,

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hi ...

acquired a minority stake, joining as a co-owner.

References

{{Dallas Fuel, state=collapsed American companies established in 2007 Entertainment companies established in 2007