Felix LaHaye, the chief executive of United Esports, a gaming marketing agency, compared competitive play for e-sports organizations to a car company fielding a Formula One racing team — an expensive undertaking that draws eyeballs and prestige.
“It creates value elsewhere in their ecosystem,” Mr. LaHaye said. “It’s worth it to have a loss leader in terms of a product that creates the brand, and then you end up selling normal products to people.”