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UK esports organisation Noctem Esports have today announced they are closing down.
Noctem Esports were set up a couple of years ago by Jack Stovell, a former FIFA player who competed for Dignitas back in 2009.
He told Esports News UK in a 2023 interview: “I’ll happily invest my life savings into pushing Noctem as far as I can. I believe we’re on the path to pushing boundaries in esports and content. And if it all goes wrong, and we run out of cash and can’t deliver on what I think we can, at least we helped people chase their dreams.”
The org competed in games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty, and fostered a great community. They reached the CoD Challengers finals, were a part of the UK Esports Team Committee, won The Wired Lobby CoD LAN, and had an impressive performance at ALGS Championship Japan recently.
They said in a statement posted on X this evening, titled ‘the end, Noctem to close down’: “A sad day today, as we’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to cease Noctem’s operations with immediate effect.
“For two years, we gave everything to build something special, and to take the brand to where we needed and wanted it to be. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make that happen.
“But what a ride it’s been. Four world finals appearances, four esports, millions of views. An incredible and dedicated content team.
“Thank you to every player, creator, staff member, and fan who supported us along the way. None of this would have been possible without you.
“It’s been one hell of a journey – and maybe one day, we’ll be back.”
The community reacted sadly to the news on X, wishing Jack and the team well, and posting messages of gratitude and support to them.
The news a few days after Noctem released their Apex roster, and just over a month after Jack posted a thread about a sponsor deal falling through – and the challenges of running a sustainable organisation.
“UK esports is Incredibly hard to monetise at our level – even when you have a team in a world final for a great esport,” he said. “I definitely don’t think our approach has been perfect, but I also struggle to see where the hole is in what we’ve delivered for the price.”
Noctem’s CoD team will now be on the lookout for a new org as they have an event in the US to prepare for later this month.
Noctem Esports are the latest UK esports org to close, following Into the Breach’s controversial closure just over a month ago.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
