Envy Gaming CEO Mike “Hastro” Rufail announces that he will be retiring the Envy brand from Esports to put everything into growing OpTic
Envy Gaming CEO Mike "Hastro" Rufail has announced that he will be officially retiring the Envy Gaming brand from Esports. This monumental decision, will see all of Envy's current Esports teams and Content Creators, except for the Dallas Fuel OWL team, flying the OpTic Gaming brand from now on.
Hastro closes the curtain on Envy's time in Esports
The decision to retire Envy Gaming comes approximately 7 months after the initial OpTic x Envy merger. A moment that saw Envy's CDL Franchise, formerly known as Dallas Empire, as well as their Valorant team rebrand under the OpTic name. In that time the OpTic brand has continued to grow into one of the most recognizable names in Esports. And it would appear that this was a big part of why Hastro has come to this crucial decision. One which he explained in full on the latest episode of OpTic founder Hector "H3CZ" Rodriquez's Eavesdrop podcast
"When we merged our companies together there was this thought that we were going to take both of our brands, OpTic & Envy, and we are going to do things with them," Hastro said. "We would continue to do the things we have always done, but we would continue to grow them. But I also had in the back of my mind that there was potential to sunset Envy Gaming and just put all of our efforts into OpTic."
"I know there are a lot of Envy fans out there. There are guys out there with tattoos of our logo. There are fans out there who have supported us for almost 15 years. And I was thinking about these guys the whole time. But at the same time, this business has to survive. I'm the one that is more attached to that Envy brand than anyone and I think it is time for us to put all of our resources into ONE brand."
Goodbye Envy, Hello OpTic Gaming
As a result of the decision, all of Envy's Esports teams and Content Creators will now be flying the colors of the Greenwall. Including OpTic's brand new Rocket League team, which was the first of Envy's former rosters to be announced under the new name during the podcast episode. However, Hastro also went on to say that Envy Gaming's Overwatch League Franchise, the Dallas Fuel, will continue to compete under that brand. Citing it as being a huge part of Overwatch's culture now.
"Dallas Fuel in the Overwatch League will stick," Hastro said on the podcast. "That brand is so ingrained in Overwatch now that I kind of felt like we should keep that going. It has been great thing, the fans there have been amazing and we feel that the Dallas Fuel can continue to be a brand."
This will likely be but a small moment of relief for Envy fans as the Fuel will stay as they are. And while there is plenty to be excited about in terms of OpTic Gaming's future, it is a shame that it shall come as a result of one of the most iconic brands in Esports fading into the history books. Envy Gaming will be sorely missed by the community.