October 20, 2021
PALO ALTO, Calif. — October 19, 2021 — Step, the all-in-one financial solution built for the next generation, today announced an exclusive partnership with Fortnite World Cup Champion and two-time Esports Player of the Year, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf of Sentinels Pro. The partnership aims to provide teen gamers with access to modern financial products that help them make gaming purchases, manage their esports winnings responsibly and improve gameplay with a unique opportunity to train alongside Bugha himself.
Gaming is massively popular among Gen Z consumers with an estimated 45 million U.S. teens playing video games, representing 20% of the industry overall. This figure is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years as more teens aspire to turn these hobbies into full-time gigs on the competitive esports circuit, much like Bugha did.
In 2019, the 16-year-old Pennsylvania native won the inaugural Fortnite World Cup, beating out 40 million players for the title and a $3 million prize. Today, Bugha is at the top of his game, ranked the 12th highest earner in all of esports and just added the title of Step investor to his resume. As for Fortnite, it’s become the third most-played game worldwide with over 350 million registered players, hitting more than 3.2 billion hours of gameplay each month. However, as more teen gamers are pivoting to competitive play––with $6 million prize pools at stake––it’s highlighted several gaps that need to be closed in order to meet their modern financial needs. Read rest here.