New York City's vibrant esports scene convinced this multimillion dollar team to launch a new organization dedicated to its local gaming culture

NYXL Homecoming July 2018 Andbox/New York Excelsior

Andbox is a new esports organization created to represent New York City’s social gaming scene.
Andbox operates New York Excelsior (NYXL), a multimillion dollar Overwatch League franchise, and has also acquired the rights to run New York City’s “Call of Duty” team in Activision’s upcoming league.
NYXL has created a welcoming atmosphere for New York City’s gaming community with sold out watch parties, competitions, and pop-up shops, developing a rabid fanbase in the process.
While NYXL is dedicated to Overwatch, Andbox will be able to create more events that serve the broader gaming community in New York City.
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In New York City, esports is about much more than just online competition. New York has an engaged and social community of gamers who are ready to show up, celebrate, and support each other in a variety of games.

The vibrant spirit of New York City’s gaming scene led to the creation of AndBox, a new esports organization dedicated to the city’s gaming culture. Founded by Sterling.VC — the same group that operates the New York Mets and Sportsnet New York — AndBox will operate two multi-million dollar esports franchises while organizing a range of events for gamers in New York City.

Sterling.VC has already invested in the city’s gaming community with the New York Excelsior (NYXL), its Overwatch League (OWL) franchise. Though the Overwatch League currently hosts the vast majority of its matches from a studio in Burbank, California, NYXL worked with local fan groups in New York to host watch parties, competitions, and meet-and-greet events with the team.

These events helped galvanize the city’s social gaming scene — fans of other games appreciated the social experience of NYXL’s events and were willing to embrace “Overwatch” as well.

Andbox is raising the bar for what gamers expect from social events.
Andbox

Gamers in New York have been organizing their own events for years, long before esports became a multimillion dollar industry. But NYXL’s willingness to partner with grassroots organizers and invest in premium events helped create a welcoming atmosphere and inspired new possibilities for the city’s gaming community.

The founders of Andbox felt that their esports teams should have a connection with the local community.
Andbox/New York Excelsior

“In New York, we have a unique opportunity to grow and unite the gaming community both on a local and global stage, and we’re confident that Andbox will continue to raise the bar by celebrating gamers on a scale rarely seen in this industry,” Andbox co-founder Rohit Gupta said.

Andbox learned new ways to engage with fans through NYXL’s events.
Julian Galang/NYXL

New York’s social esports crowd isn’t totally unique.

Much like you’d find with traditional sports teams, esports organizations have found that not every fan wants to be a competitor themselves. People express their love for gaming and esports in different ways.

For some, that might include cosplaying their favorite character or hosting casual play sessions for fellow fans to improve at the game. Others simply show their support by wearing a team jersey, or sporting the team’s color scheme in-game.

“We’ve received a tremendous amount of support from our fans, but we recognize that New Yorkers – and gamers everywhere – are still hungry for a deeper, more meaningful connection to esports,” Andbox co-founder Scott Wilpon said in a statement. “We’re incredibly excited to launch Andbox to help people find exciting new ways to self-identify and express themselves as gamers.”

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