Curry.gg, the Valbonne video game program, is trying to revolutionize the rules of esports*. To facilitate access and promote the democratization of the sector, the project faces significant challenges in a field still controlled by publishers and developers.
To turn the page and make the video game sector more accessible, the Curry.gg platform is not hiding its ambitions. Created in January 2025 in Valbonne, the project was launched by Gaëtan Albert, president of the company Erisia, specialized in the publishing of video games in France and internationally, and Juliette Martin, the company’s director. The two enthusiasts aim to increase the visibility of *esports from a local to an international scale.
Among the issues faced in the sector, the director criticizes the functioning of matches: “if it’s only taking place in the matchmaking system designed (the process by which players are grouped in matches for online battles, ed.) by the game publisher or developer, it meets their expectations, based on level or technique and not on a style of play.” Some, played in the first person, such as Call of Duty, Fortnite, or Apex Legends, use the controversial skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) system, which makes you play with players of your level.
Making player profiles, teams, and structures more readable
To navigate better, based on various characteristics, players can write their resumes to outline a more precise profile. The downloadable documents present journey details, including IRL tournaments (in real life, ed.). “We propose to connect players and teams with the clearest and most standardized skills possible. Everyone should know what type of person they are facing and whom they can match with (be in alignment or harmony with something or someone, ed.),” explains Juliette Martin. According to the co-founder of Erisia, the idea is to address a wide range of people, to make an opaque system inclusive through cooperation and transparency.
The statistics accessible to everyone, which vary according to the genres, include the number of resources, the score of recent matches, the number of deaths… The publisher, the co-founder recalls, can reset the statistics with the change of seasons. Nevertheless, on Curry.gg, resumes are not in the hands of the industry bosses, which allows for safeguarding profile data.
“A profile can be multigaming and have multiple resumes. If I am a competitive player, my statistics demonstrate my performances on Rocket League (a soccer game played with cars, ed.), Valorant, etc. As long as it is on different games, everyone can see my data”, she analyzes. The project is not new, Gaëtan Albert has already been confronted on Counter-Strike (a first-person shooter game) with the traditional matchmaking system controlled by the video game publisher. “This general system rather leads to toxic environments and is not conducive to an ambitious ground (environment). We have faced these discussions on Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and League of Legends,” she adds.
Establishing in Valbonne, a natural choice
Originally from the Alpes-Maritimes, Juliette Martin grew up and studied between Cannes and Juan-les-Pins, unlike her colleague, Gaëtan Albert, who comes from the Paris region. Their choice was made, according to her, in Valbonne, “if only for the company culture.”
The limit of democratization
Despite the company’s clear intentions, they face a mountain of challenges. The grip of publishers and developers limits potential progress. “It would be crazy if the inventor of soccer said, ‘I am in charge of the entire sport from now on.’ However, that’s exactly what we are facing in video games,” she warned. Known for its international tournaments, Riot Games, an American company, produces the game League of Legends and defines communication, the competitive scene… According to the general director, players denounce the management of the multinational’s environment that only holds to its own advantages. Their differences, their relationship to the sector: “we, intermediaries, want to serve the interests of players and teams”, she assures.
Content creators who have already worked with Curry.gg
According to our source, some content creators have already worked with them. Let’s take a look at who they are. First, there is Lilian Cinoche, a TikToker, who released a book to learn English “without headaches.” Then, Sanjay, an influencer and coach, provides advice on improving in Valorant, a game by the American giant Riot Games. “The Immortal Shortcut,” the young influencer’s paid program, costs 29 dollars per month to progress solo.
Then, Coach Rogue, a professional of League of Legends (owned by the same publisher, ed.) and coach, offers interactive training sessions on his site at 60 euros per hour. On Twitch and YouTube, the American videographer Zaboutine has been creating “pedagogy to better understand League of Legends” for over three years. Other names are working or have worked with the project, such as Wild11, RiftGuides, EncoreLol, or Rooney, a Canadian, Valorant player.
*Esports, or electronic sports in French, refers to video game competitions taking place on local networks on consoles, computers, and phones.
