NAVI's owner claims owning an esports team is actually a "very profitable business"

Malsym Krippa, the owner of the legendary Counter-Strike 2 team Natus Vincere, says that owning an esports team is actually a "very profitable business," stating that turned the organization around within a year of taking over the business.

Profitability in esports has been a conversation for a long time, with organizations continually reporting losses over the years. This has led to many questions about the sustainability of esports in its current guise, with many wondering if the bubble could burst completely and plunge the entire industry into chaos. According to Krippa, however, NAVI is not only safe from this issue, but the legendary FPS team is actually a profitable endeavor.

In an interview, Krippa stated that when he took over NAVI in 2018, the organization was making a loss and had to be subsidized with $1.5 million a year to stay afloat. According to the businessman, however, that changed pretty quickly, and the team has remained in the black ever since.

Speaking to dev.ua, Krippa said: "Esports is a very profitable business," generating "millions of dollars in net profit per year. When I bought NAVI, it was a loss-making organization that was subsidized by about $1.5 million a year. They told me then: 'It's impossible to make a business out of this.'"

In fact, NAVI CEO Yevhen Zolotarov was one of those people, telling his owner that it was "impossible" for the organization to become profitable. Krippa says his reply was simple: "I don't have unprofitable businesses."

As for what makes NAVI profitable, Krippa says that the organization, which primarily competes in CS2 but also has squads in Valorant, League of Legends, and Dota 2, is among the top five esports teams in terms of hours watched in matches at 571 million total hours. This has driven sponsorships, while they've also made money through tournament winnings as well.

Of course, while Krippa's NAVI is profitable, that isn't the case across the board, and we've seen a number of high-profile esports organizations scale back costs. Back in September 2025, G2 Esports, 100 Thieves, and Team Liquid all laid off staff, with TL making another round of cuts in March 2026.