Insomnia Gaming Festival organiser acquired by Supernova Capital

Private equity firm Supernova Capital has announced it has fully acquired Basingstoke-based Player1 Events from GAME and sets out its vision for holding events in 2021 and beyond.

Craig Fletcher, the founder of Multiplay and the Insomnia Gaming Festival, will return to lead Insomnia operations following the acquisition. Fletcher will also join Supernova’s executive team and provide the driving force and entrepreneurial spirit behind Supernova’s future plans for live events and esports. All existing P1E staff will be retained as part of the acquisition and will be potentially working on an Insomnia event in 2021 along with future events planned in the UK and internationally in 2022 and beyond.

The first Insomnia, in 1999, was a 300-player event for PC gaming only, but in recent years has incorporated console gamers. Sometimes referred to as "The Glastonbury of Gaming", it grew to become the biggest festival of its kind in the UK and is a large-scale gaming event with a professional main stage, an expo hall and a large-scale LAN (Local Area Network) event which is the largest LAN in the UK.

Fletcher ran his first online dialup league and ‘LAN party’ event for Doom 2 in 1994. He then went on to found Multiplay in 1997 and lead its growth to become the largest video gaming events and esports company, as well as the largest provider of online gaming servers, in the UK. In March 2015, he headed the Multiplay side of the deal that saw the company acquired by GAME Digital PLC and then lead the strategy and partnerships around Esports and competitive gaming for the GAME Group, while still supporting Multiplay as a key company within it. He left the full-time role in December 2017 to act as a business angel, consultant and investor in the esports, media, tech and video gaming space.

Fletcher commented: “We’ve seen over the past year that the demand for events has been palpably growing, both as interest in esports has grown dramatically, but also people longing to return to the atmosphere of being at a live event. By relaunching Insomnia, we will take things to a new level, uniting gamers of all ages, and players of all levels to come together at inspiring live events. We hope to be in a position to make announcements on 2021 events soon.”

Paul Wedgwood, co-founder and CEO of Supernova said: “Insomnia is an event with global appeal, and we’re excited about the impact Supernova and our partners can make. We’re in an excellent position to help brands develop their own events and communities post-Covid, following a transformative 12 months in the industry. We also look forward to continuing our close relationship with GAME and Belong as we develop new experiences for our own growing community.”

Sarah Hodgson, UK FD of GAME commented: “The Insomnia Gaming Festival is a crucial date on the gaming calendar for bringing gamers together to celebrate the games they love. The event has always had a wide appeal and we look forward to seeing what Craig and the Supernova team can do in the future.”