Global Esports has exited esports and launched a studio focused on AI
The Indian organization Global Esports has exited esports and disbanded its VALORANT roster, club co-founder Rushindra Sinha announced on X. All players are now free agents. The company will continue operating under the GE Studios brand and will work on projects in the gaming industry using AI.
Global Esports’ latest VALORANT roster
- Xavier “xavi8k” Juan
- Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza
- Kyung-won “UdoTan” Ko
- Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov
- Kyle “Autumn” Dunn
- Daniel “Platoon” Zhou (coach)
- Darren “Aimix” de la Cruz (assistant coach)
- Sam “Fields” Greenfield (analyst)
In a farewell video, Sinha explained the decision to shut down the esports division:
When Riot reached out to us and asked about our plans, we said that 2026 would most likely be our last year in esports. <…>
It didn’t make sense to keep an entire organization running just to keep one team together. After all, with the new rules and all the upcoming changes, if even one player left, everything could fall apart. <…>
It wasn’t reasonable to keep the entire company running just to keep the roster together. And it would also have been wrong to deprive the team of other opportunities that might have come their way. We wanted to find a way to keep this roster together for the guys’ sake. Because more than anything, I want life to work out as well as possible for these five players. And for everyone else—the employees, everyone who worked at GE. I want the very best for everyone.
So we made a difficult decision: to release all our players and give each of them the opportunity to seek new offers. Many are already receiving them. After the year that we and our players have been through, they absolutely deserve it. Every single one of them. <…>
Now the story of GE Studios begins. Everything we’ve been doing for the past ten years will gain new momentum thanks to artificial intelligence. AI is already changing how games are created, how stories are told, and how communities are built. If you follow me, you know just how passionate I am about AI.
We’re closing this chapter on esports to pave the way for a completely new one. The past ten years have been the best I could have ever dreamed of. Now, our mission and our goal are to make the next ten years even more exciting.
Global Esports was founded in India in 2017. The project’s story began with a group viewing of The International in Mumbai, and just a month later, the organization had assembled its first Overwatch roster. Later on, GE fielded teams in Dota 2, CS:GO, Fortnite, and PUBG Mobile.
The organization entered the VALORANT scene in October 2020, and starting in 2023, it competed in the VCT Pacific partner league as the sole representative from South Asia.
The 2026 season proved to be the team’s most successful. GE qualified for Masters (top 9–10) and Champions (top 9–12) for the first time, competed in the Esports World Cup (top 13–16), and won the VCT Pacific Stage 2 title. In the regional tournament final, the team defeated Nongshim RedForce 3–2, coming back from a 0–2 deficit in maps.
Photo by Lee Aiksoon, Riot Games.
