The group of owners behind Sentinels appears to have strong confidence in the brand’s future, as indicated in their recent announcement, according to an official statement released by the organization today.
The Sentinels ownership group has injected an additional $3.4 million into the company, which will allow Sentinels to maintain its regular operations and explore new opportunities in the world of esports. On their StartEngine page, where they’ve already raised over $150,000 in crowd-funded investments, Sentinels expressed the hope that this injection of funds would provide assurance to their fans that Sentinels is here to stay.
Sentinels had garnered attention earlier in August when they initiated a StartEngine campaign, shedding light on their financials, particularly their hefty monthly expenses of $695,000 for player, creator, and staff salaries. They had mentioned during the campaign’s launch that they would still need “additional funds” regardless of the crowdfunding results and had even made self-deprecating “broke” jokes on social media.
The newly announced cash injection is expected to have a more substantial impact, as Sentinels anticipates a decrease in their monthly spending, or “burn rate,” due to a wider industry trend of reduced player costs. During the recent offseason, Sentinels made significant moves in the VALORANT scene by signing Mouhamed “johnqt” Ouarid as their in-game leader and re-signing superstar Tyson “TenZ” Ngo, while also welcoming back Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro as a sixth player.
In the realm of VALORANT, Sentinels is looking ahead to their next source of financial support, but this time not from ownership. Their statement today mentioned that the company is “poised to benefit from the introduction of in-game digital content via its flagship title, VALORANT.” Riot Games has revealed plans to release team skins for partnered VCT teams in 2024.
Sentinels has recently hosted two showmatches, featuring their revamped VALORANT roster facing off against G2 and Moist x Shopify. All three teams, along with the Challengers team Oxygen, will participate in the Sentinels Invitational event starting on November 1.