Unexpected shutdown for UK-based organisation EXO Clan

22 May 2025

In a move that many industry insiders, players and fans of esports in the UK did not see coming, UK-based esports organisation EXO Clan announced its definite closure on Monday, May 19th, 2025. EXO Clan was founded back in 2015 and went through various mergers over the years to grow into a multi-title organisation. At the time of the announcement, they boasted a VALORANT and an Apex Legends team, while in the past they also competed in titles like Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Counter-Strike and Rocket League.

Decision surrounded by confusion

As we said, the decision to shut down EXO Clan came as a surprise to many. To better understand why it is useful to understand the structure behind the esports organisation. Through mergers with various other UK-based organisations in the last few years, EXO Clan ended up being listed as a private company in the United Kingdom. This included a board of five directors with shared ownership in the organisation.

This is important to know, because as it seems at the moment, the closure of EXO Clan was a decision by its management. That is because soon after the announcement, EXO Clan founder and former CEO Kris “Exodus” Partell published a message on his X account, stating that he had been caught completely off guard by the decision. According to him, he only learned about the news through a leak on streaming platform Twitch in regard to EXO Clan players looking for new organisations and not through official channels.
“I didn’t even know it was happening till I saw the leak…”, writes Kris ‘Exodus’ Partell on X, “Somehow my role in the Discord was removed and therefore I didn’t get the ping with the information. Nor was I approached at any point with the problems at hand.”

What now with EXO Clan?

The question of many players’ and fans’ minds is what will happen with EXO Clan now. As it stands, it does not seem likely that the organisation will restart its esports activities, especially because the players on its rosters are actively looking for (and joining) other organisations as we speak. At the same time, there are rumours that part of the remaining EXO Clan staff is determined to restart the organisation, though details on possible plans are unknown (to us) at the moment.

One thing is sure, at least, and that is that with the closure EXO Clan, the United Kingdom is potentially losing a competitive name in the world of esports, especially when it comes to Apex Legends. Just last year, for example, EXO Clan impressed during the Esports World Cup by making it to the elimination stages. The British side topped the Apex Legends Group B table, together with Swedish organisation Alliance, and ended up clinching tenth place in the event. That performance earned them $ 30.500 in prize money, which comes down to about £ 22.719. This year, EXO Clan competed at the Apex Legends Global Series: 2024 Championship, where they finished in 16th place and took home $ 22.000 (£ 16.387) worth of prize money.