Gaming at FC Bayern: From the Allianz Arena to Roblox and Back
Roblox, eSports and co.: FC Bayern Munich is at the forefront of gaming. And a best practice example of how brand communication can succeed via digital gaming culture - without bending.
Game, set and match. FC Bayern is used to setting records. So it’s hardly surprising that the top club is also breaking new ground when it comes to addressing target groups – and successfully venturing into a sphere that certainly has its pitfalls: Gaming. For example, the club is taking part in the adidas Football Festival on the Roblox gaming platform, where it is building its own fan zone in the popular social experience game “PLS Donate”, explicitly targeting a young, gaming-savvy target group. Bayern competes in the Virtual Bundesliga with two top eSports players, whose matches are broadcast live on the club’s own Twitch channel.
FC Bayern is clearly committed to gaming – says Thomas Ehemann, Head of Digital at the soccer club: “We see great potential in eSports, as millions of young people around the world spend a lot of time playing virtual soccer simulations and other sports games. Some of these gamers are already fans of our club, but a large proportion are not yet. And it is precisely this target group that we want to get excited about FC Bayern early on.” Over 500,000 spectators attended the Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship Final in March. There were 3.5 million Daily Active users at the adidas Football Festival on Roblox, the Instagram eSports channel had 351,000 followers and a Guinness World Record-breaking 3,500 participants took part in the first digital Schafkopf tournament.
Target groups on gaming platforms: Where the fans really are
Whether sports club or media company – the question is no longer: Should we be present in digital games? But rather: Where is my target group when they are not with me? The answer, especially for young people, is: in games. Roblox alone reaches over 150 million active users worldwide, almost 60% of whom are under 17 years old. FC Bayern says it already reaches millions of young people via EA Sports FC. Ehemann sums it up: “This makes the digital space an important playing field for tapping into new markets and bringing young fans into contact with the FC Bayern brand globally.”
Media scientist Prof. Markus Kaiser, who researches digital media and change management at Nuremberg Tech, classifies this as a long-term structural change: “It’s not going to disappear again. eSports and games are here to stay.” He continues: “It’s not necessarily a foregone conclusion that a very young audience will flock to soccer stadiums. In gaming worlds, you attract a completely different audience.” It is precisely this change of perspective that is ideal for media brands. According to the industry association game e.V., around 6 in 10 people aged 6 to 69 in Germany alone regularly play digital games. That’s 59 percent of the total population – more than ever before. This figure has risen significantly again in recent years, by around nine percent between 2020 and 2025 alone, and extends across all age groups. One in five people over the age of 65 now regularly plays digital games. There are now over three billion game players worldwide.
It is not necessarily a foregone conclusion that a very young audience will come to soccer stadiums in droves. In gaming worlds, you attract a completely different audience.
Media scientist Prof. Markus Kaiser
Three lessons that FC Bayern teaches us about gaming
But simply jumping into the gaming world is no guarantee of success. There are three lessons to be learned from FC Bayern’s approach to gaming that can also be applied to other brands.
- Authenticity is a must
The fact that FC Bayern is so active in eSports is in line with the club’s guiding principle: Media Director Stefan Mennerich, who is also responsible for the Digital division, formulates it as follows: “We also make sure that we remain true to ourselves in the area of eSports. We are close to soccer or other games that are authentically connected to us. A shooter game in which a character wears a Bayern jersey definitely doesn’t fit in with us.” An example that aptly illustrates this: “We have launched a digital Schafkopf tournament. It’s Bavarian, it’s likeable, it suits us.” And when using influencers, FC Bayern also makes sure that their appearance fits in with the character of the club – and that, ideally, they were already fans beforehand. For companies, this means: no artificial coolness, but offers that match their own DNA. Markus Kaiser knows that this is all the more important when it comes to young people: “You need to understand young target groups and get them involved. And that the board of the analog soccer club doesn’t think it knows exactly how gaming works – young people in particular are very allergic to that.”
- Interaction is the new storytelling
In games, FC Bayern fans can score goals, conquer leaderboards and climb the club career ladder. They don’t just consume the brand, they play it. This interactive, immersive character of games is unique and needs to be used sensibly according to its media logic. Ehemann describes the mechanism as follows: “In Roblox, we play mini-games, the gamers can put on our jersey virtually and this is how a young target group identifies with FC Bayern again.” Kaiser emphasizes the importance: “The interactivity of the medium creates a completely different quality of relationship between the brand and the players.” This builds a much stronger emotional bond than when information is consumed passively, for example on television or news apps.
- eSports is already a marketing channel
The Virtual Bundesliga is played in a games format. There are several tournament rounds in various German cities, with a total prize pool of 100,000 euros. Virtual sport is not a niche event, but a sporting event with real infrastructure, real reporting, real careers and real emotions. The extension of analog sport into the digital space creates completely new communication opportunities – which in turn has feedback effects on the brand out on the pitch. Kaiser believes that too little use has been made of these so far: “While the feedback to the clubs has always been there in eSports, eSports still doesn’t appear much in analog soccer.” There is still room for improvement.
“Sometimes the topic of gaming is not yet properly understood. There is still a lot of classic transfer, for example banner advertising, which is then packed into games.” His clear recommendation: dare to be more creative! Furthermore, not everything should be placed on one games platform. This can lead to dependencies that may later fall on the brand’s feet. What Facebook page operators learned painfully when the algorithm changed can be repeated in gaming. The strategy should therefore take platform independence into account and use its own channels and communities as anchors. And above all – and this brings us back to the topic of authenticity – stay true to yourself. What sets FC Bayern apart is not least its clearly formulated value orientation. Mennerich emphasizes: “All of FC Bayern’s activities in the area of eSports must be compatible with our values. No violence, no racism, no sexism. The focus must be on mutual respect, fairness and cooperation.” Anyone who goes into gaming without a clear stance risks losing credibility – especially with a target group that senses authenticity with a fine radar.
Best scoring opportunities: clever use of digital gaming platform
Gaming offers a platform to address new and old target groups in digital worlds. It is a media market with its own stars, its own formats, its own economy – and plenty of opportunities for organizations and companies to expand and deepen brand loyalty. From the Allianz Arena to Roblox and back – FC Bayern shows one possible way in which gaming worlds can be authentically integrated without bending or losing themselves. Because, as Ehemann sums it up: “The soccer that is played on the pitch outside remains the core of FC Bayern.” But the insight behind this is transferable: If you know your core, you can boldly take it into new worlds. The ball is at the penalty spot. You just have to shoot it.
Bannerbild: FC Bayern
