*By Jacqueline Corba* Video games and esports are front and center at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week, and they've caught the eye of entrepreneur and digital advertising exec Gary Vaynerchuk. "I have been lurking in the grass, as they say," VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk told Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg in an interview Monday, alluding to the uber-popular game Fortnite. The title dominated conversation at last week's E3, and the broader video game industry is looking to capitalize off that interest at Cannes Lions. Interactive entertainment company Activision Blizzard [positioned its tent](https://twitter.com/jonsteinberg/status/1008380696052846592) front and center at the festival, an apparent effort to lure more advertisers to the industry. And Vaynerchuk sees the appeal. He told Cheddar he plans to have 40 of the top 500 players on Twitch's game streaming platform come to his office in three weeks for a jam session. "I have an enormous Twitch studio right outside my office. I speak to Ninja once a week, if not four times a week," said Vaynerchuck. Ninja, whose real name is Tyler Blevins, is one of the biggest celebrities in the gaming world, with 8.5 million Twitch followers. In an interview from E3, the Fortnite champion told Cheddar's Alyssa Julya Smith he thinks the game is ready to take the eSports stage. "They are just consistently updating and upgrading it," [said Ninja.](https://cheddar.com/videos/ninja-on-fortnites-future-in-esports) "No one really does that." For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/gary-vaynerchuk-launches-one37pm-brand).

Share:
More In Technology
Bamboo-Based Paper Products Startup on a Mission to End Deforestation Raises $5 Million
Bamboo-based toilet paper company Cloud Paper raised $5 million in a recent funding round. Its product is a bamboo-based alternative to traditional toilet paper made from trees, and its mission is to end the deforestation caused by traditional paper products. Cloud Paper says the raise will allow it to make significant investments in its supply chain, product development, and hiring. Ryan Fritsch, a co-founder of Cloud Paper, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
White House: Carbon Capture Key To Fighting Climate Change
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Load More