A company built around competition and community
Infinite combined two kinds of company building. Acquisitions brought existing teams, audiences and creative identities into the group. New businesses added capabilities in sponsorship, content, live events, merchandise and player development. Chaney’s work connected the commercial opportunities surrounding esports with the people and organizations already shaping its culture.
His operating responsibilities included originating and negotiating the acquisitions of OpTic Gaming, Obey Alliance and Sector Six Apparel; securing places in the Overwatch League and the North American League of Legends Championship Series; and recruiting executive management. Houston Outlaws became the group’s Overwatch League team. Each brand brought a distinct relationship with its players and supporters.
Building the organization
Chris built the organization behind the teams, directing the creation of marketing, legal, finance and operations departments and the formation of complementary businesses. He held profit-and-loss responsibility for an operation spanning two offices, more than 80 corporate employees and more than 100 professional players and content creators.
This required bringing together people with different forms of expertise: professional players, creators, commercial executives, event operators and investors. The resulting business connected team ownership with the everyday work of developing talent, producing programming, serving partners and building audiences. The operating model gave each of those functions a place within the wider organization.
The company also brought traditional sports investors into esports. Chaney’s responsibilities included securing investment from sports team owners, adding a further connection between established sports business practices and the commercial possibilities of competitive gaming.
A landmark acquisition
Immortals Gaming Club acquired Infinite in June 2019. Cooley, which advised the buyer, described it at the time as the largest change of control in esports history. The transaction brought OpTic Gaming and the Houston Outlaws into a larger international esports group.
In a later interview, Chaney returned to the central commercial question behind Infinite: how an esports organization can develop several sources of revenue around its audience and capabilities. He discussed complementary businesses with their own identities and leadership, careful choices about the games a team enters, and the value of a strong local community alongside global reach.
Infinite brought acquisitions, new ventures and professional team operations together at scale. For Chris, it remains a defining example of building an organization around an ambitious commercial idea and assembling the people and capabilities to pursue it.
Explore the professional record
Find concise answers about Chris Chaney’s companies, Princeton leadership and professional work, with links to the detailed histories and original sources.
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