Empire Paintball

What Empire Paintball does

Empire Paintball is a paintball equipment manufacturer and brand operating under the corporate parent Kore Outdoor (US) Inc., alongside sister brands such as Tippmann. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes a comprehensive product portfolio organized into five paintball lines (EVIL, Marballizer, Premium, Formula 13, and Heat), two markers (Axe 2.0 and Mini GS), the EVS goggle family (including the Crystal Series and Lurker LE), HALO TOO LE and Halo Pro loaders, the FLO PRO tank, and supporting accessories and apparel. Its competitive differentiation rests on proprietary fill and shell technologies: RFT Fusion Technology and the RPS Advanced Formula deliver consistency and accuracy in the EVIL, Marballizer, and Premium tournament-grade lines, while the patent-protected OIL-FREE BIOFILL™ in Formula 13 offers a vegetable-based, biodegradable alternative to traditional oil-based fills with no direct competitor offering.

The company serves a segmented customer base spanning professional and tournament players, recreational players at paintball fields, and speedball/woodsball format enthusiasts, with a secondary dealer and field-operator channel for wholesale distribution. Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer e-commerce via shop.gisportz.com, a dealer/distributor network accessible through Kore Outdoor's locator infrastructure, and physical paintball field venues supported by a referral partnership with trypaintball.com. Marketing efforts center on Instagram organic social, a corporate blog, the Imperial Sponsorship program, and the field-locator partnership, targeting both top-of-funnel awareness and mid-funnel player conversion.

Empire's geographic footprint is limited to North America, and no public revenue, headcount, funding, or M&A activity is disclosed. Premium has been the #1 selling paintball for 20 years, suggesting durable brand equity, but the broader paintball category is a mature niche sport with limited secular tailwinds. Recent activity has focused on SKU proliferation, limited-edition colorways and bundles, and an initial move into branded apparel, consistent with a brand-extending rather than market-expanding posture.

Name

Empire Paintball

Legal name

Kore Outdoor (US) Inc.

Website

https://empirepaintball.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Empire Paintball is a North American paintball equipment brand under Kore Outdoor (US) Inc., manufacturing and selling proprietary paintballs (EVIL, Marballizer, Premium, Formula 13, Heat), markers, goggles, hoppers, tanks, and accessories to tournament players, recreational players, and dealer networks via DTC e-commerce and wholesale channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Paintball Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Shooting Sports Equipment Retail (Targets, Clay, Range Gear, Hearing/Eye Protection) (CRAMAKAG)

Keywords

• Paintball equipment
• Tournament paintballs
• Paintball markers
• Paintball manufacturing
• Protective paintball gear

Headquarters

HQ city

Sewell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Paintball Products Sales: Sale of paintballs (EVIL, Marballizer, Premium, Formula 13, Heat lines), paintball markers (Axe 2.0, Mini GS), goggles (EVS series), hoppers, tanks, barrels, and accessories/apparel through e-commerce platform.
2. Paintball Sales: Core paintball product sales across multiple tiers: professional/tournament (EVIL, Marballizer), intermediate/field (Formula 13), and entry-level (Heat).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Empire Paintball manufactures and sells paintballs, paintball markers, goggles/masks, hoppers, tanks, barrels, and accessories. Its paintball line spans entry-level (Heat) to professional tournament grade (EVIL, Marballizer), differentiated by proprietary fill and shell technologies. Equipment is sold direct-to-consumer via e-commerce and through a dealer/distributor network under parent Kore Outdoor (US) Inc.

Product overview

Empire Paintball is a paintball equipment manufacturer and brand under the parent company Kore Outdoor (US) Inc. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of paintball products organized into five main categories: paintballs (EVIL, MARBALLIZER, PREMIUM, FORMULA 13, HEAT), markers (AXE 2.0, MINI GS), goggles (EVS, EVS Crystal Series, EVS Lurker LE), hoppers (HALO TOO LE, Halo Pro), tanks (FLO PRO), and accessories/apparel. The paintball line ranges from entry-level (HEAT) through intermediate (FORMULA 13, PREMIUM) to professional tournament grade (EVIL, MARBALLIZER), with various shell and fill technologies including RPS Fusion Technology and proprietary OIL-FREE BIOFILL.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EVIL: Professional/tournament grade paintball line featuring RPS Fusion Technology for high performance consistency and accuracy.
• MARBALLIZER
• PREMIUM
• Formula 13
• HEAT

Products and services

• EVIL Paintball Professional/tournament grade paintball featuring RPS Fusion Technology with high-grade perfect round shells designed to withstand humidity and elements; bright thick fills intended for snap shooting in competitive play.
• Marballizer Paintball Tournament grade paintball formulated with RFT Fusion Technology and RPS Advanced Formula, designed to keep balls flying straight and consistently breaking on target.
• Premium Paintball Advanced level paintball, described as the #1 selling paintball for 20 years, featuring RFT Fusion Technology and non-staining fill designed to rarely break in the marker but break on impact.
• Formula 13 Paintball Intermediate level paintball featuring proprietary OIL-FREE BIOFILL, a patent-protected formula made from natural food-based vegetable ingredients; environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and easy-clean with no-staining properties.
• Heat Paintball Entry level paintball described as the most familiar and popular entry level paint worldwide, offering consistent fill and quality aimed at newcomers and cost-conscious players.
• Axe 2.0 Paintball Marker Performance paintball marker marketed as 'The Perfect Player Marker', available in Dust Green, Dust Black, and Dust Purple color options.
• Mini GS Paintball Marker Compact performance paintball marker available in Dust Black and Dust Red color options.
• EVS Goggles

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kore OutdoorcoreOthersParent company/family brand structure. Empire Paintball operates under Kore Outdoor (US) Inc. 'Kore Outdoor Family of Brands' is referenced on the website footer. Careers and jobs referenced through Kore Outdoor LinkedIn company page.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GI Sportz: GI Sportz (also a Kore Outdoor brand) manufactures and distributes paintballs, markers, and accessories through the same shop.gisportz.com storefront used by Empire. It is effectively a sister-brand peer with substantial product overlap.
• Planet Eclipse: UK-based Planet Eclipse produces high-end paintball markers (Eclipse Geo, Etha) and apparel. It is a direct peer in tournament-grade markers and competes for the same pro/competitive player segment Empire targets with EVIL and Marballizer paint.
• Valken: Valken sells paintball markers, paintballs, masks, and tactical gear through both retail and field channels. It competes directly across Empire's price tiers and shares a multi-tier GTM approach (entry through tournament).
• HK Army: HK Army manufactures paintball markers (CS3/CSC), goggles, loaders, and apparel under the HK Army and CRBN sub-brands. Direct overlap with Empire's marker, goggle, and apparel lines in the recreational and competitive segments.
• Tippmann: Sister brand under Kore Outdoor (US) Inc., Tippmann manufactures paintball markers, loaders, and accessories with overlapping dealer and field channels. It is the most directly comparable peer because it shares corporate parentage and serves the same end customers.
• Dye Precision: Dye Precision designs and manufactures premium paintball markers, masks, loaders, and apparel targeting competitive tournament players. It directly overlaps with Empire's Axe 2.0 / Mini GS markers and EVS goggles in the performance tier.

Broad incumbents

• AirVenturi / Umarex (paintball line): AirVenturi/Umarex distributes a broad range of shooting sports products including paintball markers and airgun accessories. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with Empire in paintball equipment distribution through sporting goods channels.
• JT USA (JT Paintball): JT USA is a long-established paintball equipment brand offering masks, markers, and accessories across price points. It is a broader incumbent in the same category with overlapping SKUs (masks, markers) but a more generalist portfolio.

Emerging players

• Smart Parts: Smart Parts is a legacy paintball marker and accessory manufacturer. After a period of reduced activity, it has re-entered with select markers and accessories, making it a partial-overlap emerging peer to Empire's equipment line.
• Proto Paintball: Proto produces mid-to-high tier paintball markers (rail, body kits) targeting the competitive segment. Smaller scale than Empire but with direct overlap in the performance-marker category.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/empirepaintball
• Xx.com/empirepaintball
• Facebookfacebook.com/empirepaintball
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empire-paint

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Empire Paintball