Hi {{first name | there}},

Before we turn the page on 2025, here’s our reflection on the Milestones, Successes, and Challenges that shaped the year. This is about taking stock — what moved the needle, what tested us and what we learned along the way — before tackling what comes next.

If 2024 was about stabilising the business and finding our feet with new structures and leadership in place, 2025 was about streamlining, testing and learning. We moved from running the Ireland Esports Collegiate Series competition to building a connected ecosystem across schools, universities, communities and the workplace. It was a year of delivery, decision-making and discipline — not without its challenges.

We closed out 2025 with clearer pathways, deeper partnerships and a model that’s starting to prove itself. As ever, we’ve kept this review concise, with links included for anyone who wants to revisit the detail — before shifting focus to what 2026 has in store.

This recap touches on the moments that genuinely shifted the business forward. These milestones aren’t about volume or visibility alone — they mark structural progress, clearer direction, and decisions that will continue to shape how we grow beyond Ireland.

1️⃣ Ireland Esports Leagues officially launched

We established Ireland Esports Leagues as a national competition structure, unifying Schools, Collegiate, Company Series and national esports communities as partners under one strategic framework. The launch was reinforced by partnerships with Red Bull and Logitech G, validating the ecosystem-led approach from day one.

2️⃣ Collegiate Premier Division introduced

The Collegiate Series evolved with the launch of the Premier Division, creating a clear varsity-style performance pathway alongside the existing Open Division. This milestone completed the collegiate structure and established a genuine national stage for high-performing teams.

3️⃣ Office Showdown pilot completed, full Company Series launched

The Office Showdown pilot proved esports can function as a workplace engagement and alumni conversion product. Learnings from the pilot directly informed the Winter Tournament, with players from brands such as Logitech G, Mastercard, Dell, 2K Games and Dogpatch Labs supporting early momentum.

4️⃣ Education leadership embedded through Advisory Committees

Schools and Collegiate Advisory Committees were formed for the first time, embedding educator and institutional insight directly into strategy and programme design. This milestone marked a shift from ad-hoc engagement to structured, long-term collaboration across Irish education.

5️⃣ Nemesis proven in live competition environments

Completed testing nemesis across concurrent leagues, moving from MVP to live capability. The platform now supports competition at scale while capturing critical player and organiser data.

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🚀 Ireland Esports Leagues launched, creating a national ecosystem
We transitioned from running competitions to building a connected structure across Schools, Collegiate and Company Series. It’s the first model of its kind in Ireland and now forms the backbone of Nativz long-term strategy.

🚀 Credibility established with global partners and national communities
Partnerships with Red Bull and leading Irish grassroots esports communities strengthened the ecosystem-first approach and strengthened trust across brands, institutions and players.

🚀 Demand proven beyond students, into the workplace
The Collegiate Series reached record participation, while the Office Showdown pilot confirmed esports can work as a workplace engagement product — creating a clear bridge from education into employment and company culture.

🚀 Premier Division launched, completing the Collegiate structure
The introduction of a varsity-style Premier Division for 2025/26 established a clear national performance tier above the Open Division. Teams now have a defined pathway and a true stage to perform at the highest collegiate level much like traditional sport.

🚀 Technology moved from concept to capability
Nemesis evolved from MVP into live operational support. It’s now proven in production and ready to be deployed with early-stage partners.

🚀 Education and community foundations locked in
Schools and Collegiate Advisory Committees, alongside an expanding national community partner network, shifted the conversation from “esports as activity” to gaming as a pathway for digital skills, STEM and employability.

🎮 Building long-term structures in short-term cycles
→ We’re designing systems and partnerships that persist across academic years, budget cycles and organisational change.

🎮 Closing institutional knowledge gaps in education
→ Advisory Committees and structured education programmes will helping us build confidence through delivery, not evangelism.

🎮 Scaling delivery while protecting quality
→ We’re investing in leadership depth, clearer processes, and supporting talent across competition delivery and production.

🎮 Balancing community values with commercial sustainability
→ Schools and Collegiate Series are structured to cover their costs, while the Company Series is refined into a focused, scalable revenue engine.

🎮 Reducing reliance on sponsorship through diversified revenue
→ We’re prioritising education programmes, services, participation models, retail and technology to create a more resilient commercial mix.

Alongside the structural work in 2025, we also migrated our websites and newsletters into Beehiiv, consolidating multiple platforms into a single content, distribution and data engine.

That transition inevitably impacted some short-term metrics, but it’s already giving us clearer insight into audience behaviour, engagement quality and where the ecosystem is genuinely growing.

What the numbers tell us:

📊 +152% growth in Ireland Esports Leagues social reach
(from 527 in 2024)
Early-stage channels, strong acceleration and growing national visibility.

📊 +124.6% increase in Group marketing database opt-ins
(from 2,225 at the end of 2024)
Our most important metric — clear evidence of increased trust, relevance and long-term audience ownership.

📊 +19% growth in Group social audience
(from 10,365 in 2024)
Steady, sustainable growth across official Nativz Group channels.

📊 43.5% average email open rate | 3.8% click-through rate
(vs 47.5% open / 5% CTR in 2024)
Natural short-term dip during platform migration, now stabilising as audiences consolidate into a single ecosystem.

Beyond the numbers:
Participation growth in 2025 wasn’t just about volume. Winter registrations showed clearer intent — with performance pathways strengthening alongside inclusive, social competition. That balance is exactly what the new structure was designed to deliver.

👀 1. Technology Innovation (Nemesis)

We deliberately kept Nemesis lightweight, leveraging Challengermode’s engine while focusing on player identity and organiser data. It is now operating live, validating the approach and creating a solid base for future expansion.

👀 2. Education (Universities + Secondary Schools)

At collegiate level, engagement deepened through better structure and leadership rather than surface growth. For schools, we chose to slow down on pilot delivery following committee advice, resulting in a clear, well-defined two-track plan for execution in 2026.

👀 3. Sustainable Revenue Model

The Ireland Esports Collegiate Series now operates on a basic sustainable model combining partners, affiliation fees and merchandise. Office Showdown did not succeed commercially in 2025, but it delivered critical learning and led to validated service revenue through white-label tournaments - our first client, a tier 1 esports org.

👀 4. Irish Talent Development

Performance pathways, delivery roles, and alumni engagement all strengthened, creating talent beyond just players. National esports community partnerships are now positioned to benefit directly from this growing depth.

👀 5. Investment

We did not raise capital in 2025, choosing instead to prioritise proof and reduce execution risk. As a result, the business enters 2026 in a far stronger position to raise on substance rather than promise.

As we look ahead to 2026, our focus tightens. The last year was about testing, learning, and putting the right foundations in place — the year ahead will be shaped by these three priorities:

💼 Building momentum behind what works

After a period of deliberate experimentation, 2026 is about scaling the products and models that have demonstrated real demand and operational fit, while protecting the foundations that make the wider ecosystem viable.

With delivery now proven across leagues, services and technology, we’re preparing for a disciplined investment conversation grounded in execution rather than ambition alone.

🌍 Deepening the ecosystem, locally first

We’re focused on maximising the value within the Ireland Esports Leagues structure — across schools, universities and national community partners — while further localising Nativz Esports Club.

By strengthening leadership and embedding the club more deeply within Dublin, we’re borrowing what works best from traditional community sports to build something sustainable and culturally relevant.

🎓 Turning education trust into funded impact

Education remains central to what we’re building. In 2026, we’ll leverage competitions as delivery infrastructure for STEM, digital innovation, and employability programmes, supported by trusted relationships and advisory committees — and increasingly aligned to funded initiatives that allow this work to scale responsibly.

Thank you for your support in 2025, now it’s time to go and get 2026!

Regards,

Kurt & the Nativz Gaming Team