From $1 Billion to Almost Worthless: FaZe Clan Runs Out of Hype
The board fired CEO Lee Trink following a steep decline in the shares
Nordan “FaZe Rain” Shat, a company co-founder, wears a necklace with the FaZe logo at the company headquarters in Los Angeles in July 2022.
Photographer: Kyle Grillot/BloombergThree months after its July 2022 debut on the Nasdaq, FaZe Holdings Inc. threw an exclusive party at a San Diego nightclub, hiring the rapper Travis Scott to promote its stable of video-game stars and YouTube personalities.
Social-media influencers mingled with gamers in expensive streetwear. Many looked bored as they filmed the event for their online channels. Well past midnight, Scott appeared for a 15-minute show, his voice barely audible over the thumping bass. The party, which cost $1.7 million, got the company and a sponsor’s name in hundreds of Google search results, YouTube videos and Instagram stories. Lee Trink, FaZe’s chief executive officer at the time, hailed the event as a great success.