Kolex
Kolex is a UK-based hybrid collectibles platform that combines physical trading cards with QR-coded digital utilities for esports, primarily Counter-Strike 2. It serves ~935K collectors with officially licensed packs, secondary-market trading, fantasy leagues, pick'em, and premium ESL-licensed figurines.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersBath, United Kingdom
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Kolex does
Kolex is a hybrid collectibles platform founded in 2017 and headquartered in Bath, UK. It was created by a team with prior operating history in esports-adjacent businesses (Xfire, LoLking.net, Esportsify, Skinz). The platform combines physical trading cards with digital utilities via QR codes and a mobile companion app, allowing collectors to scan physical items and access features such as collection tracking, leaderboards, a secondary marketplace, fantasy esports leagues, Pick'em prediction games, crafting, and scouting analytics. Each collectible is uniquely minted with secure QR-code authentication, and the platform tracks 445.1M collectibles across 42.2M opened packs, 5.6M trades, and 13.1M market sales among 935.4K registered collectors.
The product surface is anchored in Counter-Strike 2 esports and supported by official licensing partnerships with ESL (including the IEM circuit), BLAST, PGL, and Valve. Beyond digital and physical card packs priced at $5.99–$60, Kolex has extended into premium physical merchandise via the Kolexibles sub-brand — officially ESL-licensed 4-inch CS2 player figurines sold as blind boxes ($27.99), starter sets ($114.99), and full sets ($249.99). Content diversification is underway into adjacent esports and entertainment IP through channel partnerships with PUBG Mobile, Kings League, FURIA Esports, SK Gaming, HiROQUEST, and DC Comics.
Kolex monetizes through one-time physical and digital card pack sales, transaction fees on secondary marketplace trades, and physical collectible figurine sales. Distribution is direct-to-consumer global e-commerce via kolex.gg and shop.kolex.gg, supplemented by a Discord-led community channel. Go-to-market is product-led and event-driven, with limited-edition pack drops timed to major esports tournaments. The company is privately held with a single disclosed 2019 funding round from Courtside Ventures and Imagination Capital; revenue, headcount, and ownership structure are otherwise undisclosed.
Kolex firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kolex
- Website
- https://kolex.gg
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Kolex is a UK-based hybrid collectibles platform that combines physical trading cards with QR-coded digital utilities for esports, primarily Counter-Strike 2. It serves ~935K collectors with officially licensed packs, secondary-market trading, fantasy leagues, pick'em, and premium ESL-licensed figurines.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kolex industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Esports Trading Cards & Collectibles
- NAICS
- Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120), Spectator Sports (71121), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Collectible Card Games (CCG/TCG) Retail (CRALAGAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Esports Competition Platforms (Tournament Platforms, Matchmaking, Ladders) (MPAFADAF)
Keywords
Where Kolex is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bath
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Kolex business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Personnel
Revenue model
- Physical Card Pack Sales: Sale of physical trading card packs at $5.99-$60 price points. Limited edition drops tied to esports tournaments. Premium packs with rare card variants.
- Secondary Market Transaction Fees: Integrated marketplace for buying and selling collectibles. Platform takes transaction fees on trades.
- Physical Collectible Figurines (Kolexibles): Premium physical collectible figurines (Kolexibles) sold as blind boxes ($27.99), starter sets ($114.99), and full sets ($249.99).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Player Packs - 4-6 cards per pack |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Premium Collector's Packs |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Legacy Blaster Box (EU) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kolexibles Series 1 Blind Box |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kolexibles Series 1 Starter Set |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kolexibles Series 1 Full Set |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Fantasy Platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Kolex product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kolex operates a hybrid collectibles platform combining physical trading cards and figurines (Kolexibles) with digital tracking, authentication, and gamification. The platform integrates a secondary marketplace, fantasy esports competitions, leaderboards, crafting mechanics, scouting analytics, and a mobile companion app, leveraging official licensing from premier esports organizers including ESL, BLAST, IEM, and PGL, with primary focus on Counter-Strike 2 collectibles.
Product overview
Kolex is a hybrid collectibles platform that combines physical trading cards with digital utilities, bringing collecting into the 21st century. The platform operates a unified ecosystem consisting of: (1) the core Kolex Collectibles Platform for tracking physical cards via QR codes and mobile app, (2) Trading Card Packs featuring esports players from Counter-Strike and partnered leagues (IEM, ESL, BLAST, FURIA), (3) the Marketplace for secondary market trading, (4) Leaderboards for competitive collection tracking, (5) Fantasy (free-to-play esports fantasy sports using digital collectibles), (6) Pick'em prediction games, (7) Crafting system for combining duplicates, (8) Scouting analytics for player statistics, and (9) Kolexibles sub-brand featuring premium physical collectible figurines. The platform spans digital sets (Core, Events, Cold Front, FURIA Headliners) and physical products (Legacy Blaster Box, Kolexibles blind boxes). The ecosystem generates engagement through 935.4K collectors, 445.1M collectibles, 42.2M packs opened, and $13.1M in market sales.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Kolexibles: Premium CS2 collectible figurines - officially ESL-licensed 4-inch figures immortalizing iconic esports players. Series 1 features legendary CS2 players like NiKo, Twistzz, B1T, Fallen, Donk, and M0NESY from IEM Krakow.
Products and services
- Kolex Collectibles Platform An integrated hybrid collectibles ecosystem combining physical esports trading cards and figurines with digital tracking, QR-based authentication, secondary marketplace, fantasy esports gaming, leaderboards, crafting mechanics, and a mobile companion app. Built for individual esports enthusiasts and collectors.
- Trading Card Packs Physical esports trading card packs featuring officially licensed content from ESL, BLAST, IEM, and PGL, primarily themed around Counter-Strike 2. Packs are released via limited drop events aligned with major esports tournaments, priced between $5.99 and $60 depending on tier.
- Kolexibles Premium physical collectible figurines under the Kolexibles sub-brand, ranging from $27.99 to $249.99, tied to esports personalities and licensed content with integrated digital tracking and companion app functionality.
- Kolex Fantasy Free-to-play esports fantasy game with competitions tied to top tournaments including BLAST Bounty, BLAST Open Porto, ESL Pro League, and IEM China, allowing users to draft teams and compete based on real-world esports performance.
Companies that use Kolex
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Kolex technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Kolex partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ESL (Electronic Sports League)coreOfficial licensing partnership for ESL tournaments including IEM Cologne, IEM Rio, IEM Atlanta, IEM Krakow. Kolex produces officially licensed collectibles featuring tournament players and moments.
- BLASTcorePartnership for BLAST tournament series collectibles including BLAST Bounty, BLAST Open Porto, BLAST Rivals. Fantasy leagues tied to BLAST events.
- Valve/Counter-StrikecorePrimary focus on Counter-Strike 2 esports ecosystem. Counter-Strike officially featured as primary collection category with Season 2026 releases.
- PGL (Professional Gamers League)corePartnership for PGL Major events including PGL Cluj-Napoca and PGL Singapore Major. Pick'em and fantasy features tied to tournaments.
- FURIA EsportsminorFURIA Headliners exclusive collection featuring FURIA esports team players. Dedicated pack releases and branded content.
- SK GamingminorEsports organization with branded collection content on Kolex platform.
- Kings LeagueminorEsports league with dedicated collection category on Kolex.
- PUBG MobileminorGame publisher with branded collection content on platform.
- HiROQUESTminorGaming brand with collection category on Kolex platform.
- DC (DC Comics)minorEntertainment franchise with branded collectibles on platform.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Kolex competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- CSFloat: CSFloat is a Counter-Strike skin marketplace providing pricing data, float-based authentication, and trading. It overlaps with Kolex on CS2 collectible/skin trading infrastructure and audience, but CSFloat focuses on in-game skins rather than Kolex's officially licensed player-card business.
Broad incumbents
- Panini: Panini is the dominant global trading card publisher (sports and increasingly esports) with established licensing relationships and broad retail distribution. It overlaps with Kolex on officially licensed player/tournament cards and physical product, but Panini is a broad incumbent across multiple sports rather than an esports-specialist.
- PrizePicks: PrizePicks is a major daily fantasy operator that has expanded into esports pick'em and fantasy products. Comparable to Kolex's Fantasy and Pick'em offerings in product surface area, though PrizePicks is a real-money operator with significantly larger scale and regulatory footprint.
- Funko: Funko is a major licensed collectibles (Pop! vinyl figures, trading cards) manufacturer and retailer with deep entertainment IP licenses. Comparable to Kolex in the broader licensed physical collectibles category — particularly the Kolexibles figurine line — though Funko operates across far more entertainment franchises.
- Topps (Fanatics Collectibles): Topps, now part of Fanatics Collectibles, is the largest specialty trading card manufacturer with deep licensing relationships across major sports and a growing digital presence. Comparable to Kolex as a trading-card retail and collectibles brand, though Topps operates across far more verticals and benefits from Fanatics' distribution.
- ESPN Fantasy: ESPN Fantasy is the broadest free-to-play fantasy sports platform across major sports. Comparable to Kolex's free-to-play Fantasy product as a competitive baseline for user acquisition, though ESPN Fantasy is not collectible-linked and does not focus on esports.
Emerging players
- OPSkins / Wax (WAX Blockchain): OPSkins (now part of the WAX ecosystem) was the dominant marketplace for CS:GO and other gaming skins/collectibles with a digital marketplace model very similar to Kolex's secondary market. Both serve the gaming item trading audience, though WAX extends broadly across multiple game IPs.
Direct peers
- Sorare: Sorare operates a digital collectibles platform with officially licensed sports player cards that double as fantasy lineups, very analogous to Kolex's hybrid collectibles + free-to-play fantasy model. Both combine scarcity-minted digital assets, secondary marketplaces, and fantasy gameplay tied to real-world performance.
- Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day): Dapper Labs runs the most prominent digital sports collectibles marketplace (NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day) with scarcity-tiered moments and a secondary market — directly analogous to Kolex's minted-card, marketplace-led esports model, though on a different sport vertical.
- StarStock: StarStock is a digital collectibles platform that launched with officially licensed esports player cards (CS:GO, LoL) and an integrated secondary market — a near-direct competitor to Kolex in the esports trading card category, with a similar minting/trading loop.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kolex financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kolex leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Kolex funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kolex M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kolex
What does Kolex do?
Kolex operates a hybrid collectibles platform combining physical trading cards and figurines (Kolexibles) with digital tracking, authentication, and gamification. The platform integrates a secondary marketplace, fantasy esports competitions, leaderboards, crafting mechanics, scouting analytics, and a mobile companion app, leveraging official licensing from premier esports organizers including ESL, BLAST, IEM, and PGL, with primary focus on Counter-Strike 2 collectibles.
Is Kolex a public or private company?
Kolex is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Kolex founded?
Kolex was founded in 2017.
Where is Kolex based?
Kolex is headquartered in Bath, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Kolex make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Physical Card Pack Sales are the primary driver. The others are secondary Market Transaction Fees and physical Collectible Figurines (Kolexibles).
Who are Kolex's main competitors?
CSFloat is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Panini, PrizePicks, Funko, Topps (Fanatics Collectibles) and ESPN Fantasy. OPSkins / Wax (WAX Blockchain) is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Sorare, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day) and StarStock.
Does Kolex have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kolex.
What industry is Kolex in?
Kolex's product category is Esports Trading Cards & Collectibles. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAGAC, Collectible Card Games (CCG/TCG) Retail, with a secondary code of MPAFADAF, Esports Competition Platforms (Tournament Platforms, Matchmaking, Ladders). Its NAICS code is 459120 and its SIC code is 5945.