• Loaded raised $20 million from Coral Tree Partners in April.
• One of its first ventures since is Open World, a consultancy and content studio to help brands grasp gaming.
• Open World is also developing a non-branded slate of scripted shows and docuseries.

Six-year-old Loaded, a talent firm that reps top gaming creators like Shroud, AnneMunition, and CouRage – and which has brokered YouTube platform exclusives for Myth and Ludwig Ahgren – is launching a new division, Open World.

Open World is a brand consultancy to help non-gaming marketers better grasp the gaming space. It will also comprise a studio that produces both branded and original content. 

Open World has a separate aim from Loaded's core business, which is facilitating deals (including brand deals) for talent.

"So many non-endemic brands look at gaming and don't have that Rosetta Stone to really understand where their brand can fit into the milieu," said Niles Heron, Loaded's chief communications and culture officer. "And sometimes brands have needs that are not talent needs."

Loaded has already consulted with Gillette, Journeys (which named Karl Jacobs creative ambassador in March in a deal brokered by Loaded), and Amazon Prime. Open World marks a formalization of these efforts, and the studio will enable it to realize its consulting work in-house. 

The name Open World has multiple meanings. It is a nod to the gaming genre, to the as-yet-unanswered promise of web3, and it also aims to upend long held notions that gaming culture can be insular. 

"Gaming has been gatekept for a really long time," Heron said. "We don't see this world as being closed. We see this world as being abundant and open."

The two divisions — Open World Solutions (the brand consultancy) and Open World Studios (the production studio) — are staffed by 14 employees, roughly a quarter of Loaded's total headcount. Twelve were already with the company, including VP of strategic partnerships Nadia Tseng, a former CAA agent who will lead the brand consultancy side, Open World Solutions. 

Two new employees will lead the content arm at Open World Studios. Cesar Martinez (formerly of Latinx-focused media companies Remezcla and Mitú) will serve as president. Joining Martinez will be Jeremy Azevedo of (formerly of 100 Thieves).

In working with brands, Tseng said a common misperception is that gaming looks homogenous to outsiders. 

"There are so many sectors of the gaming audience that like to be spoken to specific ways," she said, "from the League of Legends player to the person who likes Animal Crossing to the person who is just going to watch Karl Jacobs play Minecraft on YouTube."

In addition to branded work, Open World is developing a slate of scripted shows and docuseries, Martinez said. Short-form programming will live on YouTube and Twitch, while long-form shows could air on linear or OTT platforms. 

"Storytelling for gaming needs to shift and evolve," Martinez said. "When you think about what's on YouTube, it's gaming news, reviews, and goofing around, but there isn't real storytelling."

Open World arrives in the wake of a $20 million funding round announced by Loaded in April, led by Coral Tree Partners. At the time, the company announced a flurry of executive appointments – including Paul Conroy, who oversees Open World as president of Loaded Ventures, a division dedicated to new business. At the time, the company said it was eyeing acquisitions in the data and analytics sector.

Loaded is profitable and has been for some time, Heron said.

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