Esports & Gaming

Esports and gaming sit at the confluence of entertainment, technology and sport, generating a complex web of contractual relationships, between publishers and teams, teams and players, players and sponsors, creators and streaming platforms, each with jurisdiction-specific legal implications. We advise professional esports organisations, game publishers, tournament operators, talent agencies and individual players on the full range of legal work the industry requires, drawing on our experience across Turkish, EU and US law.

Player contracts, transfer agreements and team arrangements in esports require careful attention to employment classification, image rights, non-compete provisions and the league rules imposed by game publishers. We draft and negotiate these instruments to protect our clients' positions while keeping them compliant with the publisher terms that govern competitive play. For game developers and publishers, we advise on software-licensing structures, IP protection strategies, in-game economy regulations and the consumer-protection rules that increasingly apply to loot boxes, virtual currencies and age-gated content.

Streaming and creator agreements have become a significant commercial driver for both esports organisations and individual talent. We structure sponsorship, endorsement, content-licensing and revenue-sharing arrangements that reflect the realities of multi-platform distribution. Where disputes arise, over contract interpretation, IP ownership, or regulatory compliance, our dispute-resolution practice handles arbitration and litigation in the relevant forums.