What Arcade Media does

Arcade Media, operating as Arcade Group, is a London-headquartered creator-first management company founded in 2021 by co-founders Jordan, Sam, and Aaron. The company is best known as the exclusive management firm behind The Sidemen, described as Europe's biggest YouTube group, and operates through four integrated service divisions: Arcade Talent (talent representation and venture launches for creators), Arcade Business (a network of financial services designed to help creator-clients scale), Arcade Creative (a full-stack 360 creative agency positioning creator-led campaigns to enterprise brands), and Arcade Ventures (a forthcoming venture capital fund branded UPSIDE). The firm monetizes across professional services fees, brand partnership commissions, and a growing licensing/royalty stream from owned consumer brands including XIX Vodka, Best Cereal, Sides (a fried-chicken restaurant chain), SIDE+ membership, SIDE CARDS (co-developed with Topps), and CIRCULR sunglasses.

The technology footprint of Arcade is intentionally light: there are no public APIs, SDKs, or proprietary software products disclosed, and the company's "technology" is summarized as a creator-first methodology and brand partnership framework. Revenue is generated through quote-based, multi-year enterprise contracts on the agency side, plus retail and recurring revenue from the consumer-brand portfolio on the ventures side. Enterprise clients span gaming (Activision, for an exclusive product launch), technology (Meta, for creator-first platform experiences), and sports (FIFA, for an industry-first financial partnership), indicating a top-of-funnel built on direct, relationship-driven sales rather than self-serve or marketing-led demand generation.

Arcade is a privately held, founder-owned company with 1-10 employees. Geographic reach is anchored in Europe, and customer segments split between content creators and influencers (primary) and enterprise brands (primary). Marketing is predominantly organic and word-of-mouth, with LinkedIn as the principal professional channel. The company's competitive position rests on an exclusive Sidemen relationship, a broad creator network, and an unusually integrated services-to-consumer-brand flywheel, but its growth ceiling is structurally tied to a single talent counterparty.

Name

Arcade Media

Legal name

Arcade Group

Website

https://wearearcade.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arcade Media is a London-based creator-first management company and creative agency exclusively managing The Sidemen, Europe's biggest YouTube group, and serving enterprise brands (Activision, Meta, FIFA) across talent, creative, financial services, and consumer brand ventures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creator and Talent Management Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Esports & Creator Sponsorship/Brand Partnerships (Influencer Marketing for Gaming) (MPAFAEAE)

Keywords

• Creator management
• Talent representation
• Creative agency services
• Influencer marketing
• Brand partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Strand

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Talent Management: Management services for creators including The Sidemen, handling brand partnerships, content monetization, and talent representation.
2. Brand Partnerships and Creative Services: Arcade Creative offers enterprise creative agency services including campaign development, product launches, and brand activations with major clients like Activision, Meta, and FIFA.
3. Business Management Services: Financial services including network of financial services for clients to help scale their businesses.
4. Ventures: Investment and venture services including launching brands and products under the Sidemen umbrella.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Arcade Media is a creator-first management company that provides talent representation, business management, creative agency services, and venture capital initiatives primarily for Europe's biggest YouTube creator collective, The Sidemen. The company partners with major global brands such as Activision, Meta, and FIFA to deliver brand campaigns, product launches, and creator-driven experiences. It also operates consumer-facing sub-brands across food, beverage, and merchandise.

Product overview

Arcade is a creator-first management company and creative studio behind Europe’s biggest YouTube group, The Sidemen. The company operates through four core service divisions: Arcade Talent (talent and venture management), Arcade Business (financial services), Arcade Creative (full-stack creative agency), and Arcade Ventures (venture capital fund). The portfolio includes multiple branded sub-products spanning consumer goods (BEST CEREAL, XIX VODKA, CIRCULR), entertainment experiences (SIDE+, SIDEMEN FC), sports/trading collectibles (SIDE CARDS with Topps), food service (SIDES chicken chain), and investment (UPSIDE VC fund).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Arcade Talent: Management and ventures for The Sidemen, Europe's biggest creator collective
• Arcade Business
• Arcade Creative
• Arcade Ventures

Products and services

• Arcade Talent
• Arcade Business Business management services providing a network of financial services geared towards saving clients money as they scale their business.
• Arcade Creative Full-stack 360 creative agency offering creator-first, enterprise solutions powered by industry-leading talent behind the biggest creators in Europe. Delivers brand campaigns, product launch activations, and creative services for enterprise clients including Activision, Meta, and FIFA.
• Arcade Ventures Venture capital fund helping founders scale, including launching brands and products under the Sidemen umbrella. Marketed as a next-gen VC initiative.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• ActivisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for an exclusive product launch - Arcade Creative delivered campaign and activation services for the gaming company's product launch.
• MetacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Meta to deliver creator-first experiences - collaborative development of creator-focused initiatives and platform strategies.
• FIFAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn industry-first financial partnership with the world's largest sports governing body for creator-driven initiatives.
• ToppscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIDE CARDS trading cards brand developed in partnership with Topps for The Sidemen fanbase.
• The SidemenflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary talent represented by Arcade - Europe's biggest YouTube creator collective managed exclusively by Arcade.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Whalar: Global creator-management and influencer-marketing agency representing large creator rosters for brand partnerships. Directly comparable to Arcade's talent management and Arcade Creative agency services, especially in mid- to top-tier creator representation.
• Night Group: UK-based creative agency and talent management firm working with creators and brands on content and campaigns. Comparable business model combining talent representation with creative services for major brand clients.
• Jellysmack: Creator-economy company managing top-tier creators for content distribution and brand partnerships globally. Compares directly with Arcade's Talent management arm for top YouTube-led creator representation and monetization.
• Viral Nation: Influencer marketing and talent representation agency with global enterprise brand clients. Overlaps with Arcade Creative's enterprise sales motion and Arcade Talent's creator representation services.
• Studio71: Multi-platform digital media company and creator network handling brand deals, content production and distribution. Comparable to Arcade's integrated talent + creative + brand activation offering for top creators.

Broad incumbents

• Hello Sunshine (Candle Media): Creator-led media and brand company producing content, consumer products, and partnerships anchored around a flagship celebrity/creator. Comparable architecture to Arcade (talent-anchored content-to-CPG pipeline) though at much larger scale and capital base.
• MrBeast (Beast Industries): Creator-anchored business empire spanning chocolate, lunchables, philanthropy and video production around a single dominant creator. Functionally analogous to the Sidemen + Arcade stack — single huge creator feeding into a portfolio of products and partnerships.

Others

• CreatorIQ: Enterprise SaaS platform for influencer marketing campaign management, used by brands running creator activations. Not a direct competitor to Arcade's services but adjacent infrastructure on which competitor agencies and clients operate.
• Captiv8: Influencer marketing platform enabling brand-creator campaign matchmaking and analytics. Adjacent to Arcade's creator-brand partnership business but operates as a platform rather than as an agency or talent manager.

Regional players

• Pearmill: Creator marketing agency working with brands and creators on social-first campaigns, primarily in Western markets. Comparable to Arcade Creative's brand activation services though smaller in scale and lacking Arcade's talent ownership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wearearcade

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arcade Media