Zach Carman

Director of Publisher Partnerships · PlayVS, 2021 to 2026

I bring the world's biggest game publishers into scholastic esports, often for the first time.

I'm Zach. For five years I ran publisher partnerships at PlayVS, where Nintendo, Pokémon, and EA Sports all entered scholastic competition for the first time, with me as their person on the inside. Pittsburgh, PA · Open to remote and in-office work.

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Publisher partnerships

$Riot Games logo$

At a glance

$9M+

in ecosystem value delivered at PlayVS

30,000+

Students participating in Nintendo titles annually

First

scholastic partnerships with Nintendo and Pokémon

Five years at PlayVS (2021 to 2026), following partnerships and sales operations work at Vox Mobile. Based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Level by level

Timeline

Fall 2021
First scholastic partnership with Nintendo launches (Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon)
Spring 2022
First exclusive scholastic partnership for NBA 2K; Overwatch and Hearthstone launch with Activision Blizzard
Fall 2022
EA Sports scholastic partnership launches with Madden
2024
NFL Madden Youth Championship launches; PlayVS Zone Wars ships
Spring 2025
Pokémon UNITE becomes the first Pokémon title on PlayVS
2025
Chiefs and NHL Game On! activations; RPI Demo Days of Summer ($300K in scholarships); Madden Youth Championship year two
2025 to 2026
Capcom Street Fighter 6 competitions run as white label operator

The lineup

Publisher Partnerships

Headline partnership

2021 to 2026
Partnership owner. First ever third party competitive gaming partnership with Nintendo

Nintendo

I owned PlayVS's partnership with Nintendo, the first time Nintendo ever did competitive gaming with a third party. Starting in Fall 2021, we launched Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Splatoon 2 and 3 as official scholastic titles. I also oversaw getting the gear into schools: more than $1.5 million in Nintendo Switch hardware and more than $2 million in software value across our network. PlayVS was featured in the Nintendo Switch launcher, and we ran a Splatoon 3 exhibition with local high schools at Nintendo Live.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Splatoon 2 and 3 Featured in the Switch launcher Nintendo Live exhibition

30,000+student competitors in Nintendo titles

$1.5M+in Nintendo Switch hardware to schools

$2M+in software value to schools

Multiple renewals
Partnership owner. Rocket League, via Epic Games

Psyonix / Epic Games Rocket League

Rocket League was one of our anchor titles, and I owned that relationship through multiple renewals. Over that time we grew it well past the original high school league, extending the official scholastic partnership to middle school, collegiate, and open tournament play. I also secured the special event licensing behind programs like Upgrade Arena and the RPI event below.

Rocket League Multiple partnership renewals

3 levels addedmiddle school, collegiate, and open tournaments

2 special eventslicensed: Upgrade Arena and the RPI event

2022 to 2026
Launched the partnership. Main point of contact for EA Sports

EA Sports

I launched EA Sports' official scholastic partnership with Madden in Fall 2022, and the relationship kept growing from there. We extended coverage to EA Sports FC through pop up events with the Premier League and Tottenham Hotspur, and when EA Sports College Football launched, we added it to the PlayVS lineup as well. I worked directly with the EA Sports team to build the NFL Madden Youth Championship, and I was the main point of contact for EA Sports across our licensed events, including the Chiefs and NHL programs in the Campaigns section.

Madden, Fall 2022 EA Sports FC pop up events College Football added at launch

Fall 2022official scholastic partnership launched with Madden

3 titlesMadden, EA Sports FC, and College Football

2025
Launched the partnership. Pokémon UNITE, Spring 2025

The Pokémon Company International Pokémon UNITE

In Spring 2025, Pokémon came to PlayVS for the first time. I launched the first ever third party operating partnership for Pokémon UNITE, bringing one of the biggest franchises in the world into scholastic competition.

Pokémon UNITE

Spring 2025first Pokémon title on PlayVS

2025 to 2026
White label operator. Street Fighter 6

Capcom Street Fighter 6

PlayVS was the white label operator for Capcom's official college and high school Street Fighter competitions, running on Street Fighter 6 for the 2025 to 2026 season. The competitions carried Capcom's name. We ran them.

College and high school

2025 to 2026 seasonStreet Fighter 6, white label operator

2022
Launched the partnership. NBA 2K, Spring 2022

2K NBA 2K

I launched the first official, exclusive scholastic partnership for NBA 2K in Spring 2022. If you played NBA 2K that year, you saw us: PlayVS billboards were featured in the game itself.

NBA 2K Spring 2022 PlayVS billboards in game

Firstexclusive scholastic partnership for NBA 2K

In gamePlayVS billboards featured in NBA 2K

2022
Launched the partnership. Overwatch and Hearthstone, Spring 2022

Activision Blizzard Overwatch and Hearthstone

In Spring 2022 I launched PlayVS's official scholastic partnership with Activision Blizzard for Overwatch (the original Overwatch) and Hearthstone. PlayVS was featured in the Battle.net launcher, putting scholastic competition in front of every Blizzard player who opened it.

Overwatch 1 and Hearthstone Featured in the Battle.net launcher

Spring 2022official scholastic partnership launched

2launch titles: Overwatch and Hearthstone

Highlight reel

Campaigns and Activations

Specific events that ran on top of the partnerships above. On each one, my job was the same: secure the license, then stay on as the publisher's point of contact while it ran. Zone Wars was the exception: there I ran the project from the PlayVS side, as project and program lead and producer.

NFL / EA Sports2024 to 2025

NFL Madden Youth Championship

The first national youth gaming program with the NFL, built with EA Sports.

My role: I landed the EA Sports license that made the program possible, then ran point with EA Sports through both years of the championship and with the NFL in year two, all the way through the Pro Bowl and Draft activations.

24M+impressions

7,000+participants

1,200+schools activated

RPI / Epic Games2025

Rocket League 10th Anniversary: Demo Days of Summer

To celebrate ten years of Rocket League, PlayVS teamed up with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Epic Games on a national tournament for players ages 13 to 18. The winning team had three players, and each player earned a $100,000 scholarship to RPI ($25,000 a year for four years), so the award added up to $300,000 in scholarships, alongside gear prizes.

My role: I secured the special event licensing from Psyonix that put Rocket League's 10th anniversary tournament, and its $300K in scholarships, in front of players across the country.

$300Kin RPI scholarships, $100K per winning player

Hundredsof players competed

Ages 13 to 18national tournament field

Devoted Studios / Fortnite UEFN2024

PlayVS Zone Wars

A custom Fortnite island built for scholastic competition: a 2v2 team deathmatch mode with custom rules across 25 unique arenas, built by Devoted Studios in under two months.

My role: This one I led end to end from the PlayVS side: scoped the island with Devoted Studios, produced the build, and took it from brief to a live scholastic competition in under two months.

Read Devoted Studios' case study

1,000+schools

5,000+players competed

25unique arenas

Kansas City Chiefs / EA Sports2025

KC Chiefs: Game On! Presented by GEHA

A gaming activation at Arrowhead Stadium, blending competition, education, and community.

My role: I secured the EA Sports license and served as EA Sports' main point of contact, keeping the Chiefs, GEHA, and the publisher moving in the same direction toward event day at Arrowhead.

2.7Msocial impressions

800+attendees

3.5%engagement rate

NHL / EA Sports2025

NHL: Game On!

A partnership activation connecting scholastic esports audiences to hockey through live programming and social content.

My role: I brought the EA Sports license in and stayed on as their main contact, the connective tissue between the league, the publisher, and the schools.

16,000+students engaged

10,000+NHL opt ins

$3M+earned media value

PlayVS / Psyonix2024

Upgrade Arena

A national online elimination tournament where student competitors earned better gaming gear with every round they survived.

My role: I negotiated the special event licensing with Psyonix that let students play their way to better gear round after round, the mechanic the whole tournament hung on.

1.47M+social impressions

11,500+live stream views

308K+video views

Side quests

Personal Projects

What I build when nobody is paying me.

Bored Brinko · Solo build2026

Starfighter: Final Hope

My game. A portrait space shooter in the Galaga tradition, designed and built solo in Godot: blast through sectors, take down seven multi-phase bosses, and rebuild your fighter between runs with what you salvage. Published on Google Play under my Bored Brinko label, with an iOS release in the works.

Solo build Godot Roguelite shmup

Get it on Google Play

Sept 2026published on Google Play

7multi-phase bosses

iOSrelease in the works

Discover Deutschtown · CommunityIn testing

Mind Your Block

A cleanup tracker I co-built with my wife Anshu for Discover Deutschtown, the neighborhood organization we volunteer with. Volunteers sign in, check in at cleanup events, and log bags, hotspots, and progress on a shared map, so the neighborhood can see what care looks like, counted. Built with Capacitor and Supabase, and live now in TestFlight and Google Play closed testing.

Co-built with Anshu Capacitor + Supabase Community project

TestFlightiOS live now

Closed testingAndroid on Google Play

Earth Day 2027public launch target

Player profile

About

Hi, I'm Zach. For five years at PlayVS I was the person publishers called. I secured the licenses, negotiated the partnerships, and stayed on as the main point of contact while the programs ran, from national championships with the NFL to hardware and software programs that put Nintendo Switch systems in schools across the country.

Beyond the headline partnerships, I also closed agreements with Riot Games, Ubisoft, and NetEase, launched more than a dozen partner titles, led a team of two, and managed a $500K annual budget for Nintendo hardware programs.

Before PlayVS, I did partnerships and sales operations work at Vox Mobile (now part of Stratix). I live in Pittsburgh, PA, and am open to remote and in-office work.

Publishers

Nintendo · EA Sports · The Pokémon Company International · Epic Games / Psyonix · 2K · Capcom · Activision Blizzard · Riot Games · Ubisoft · NetEase

What I do

Licensing · Partnership renewals · Program launches · Live events · Hardware programs

Continue?

Open to the next partnership role

I currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA, and am open to both remote and in-office work. If you are building partnerships between publishers, platforms, and players, I would like to talk.

Write to me at zach.carman@gmail.com

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