Hyundai Motor Group Hosts Esports Event for Employees

Hyundai Autoever hosted a companywide esports festival, Autoever Rock Festival, to improve communication and engagement among employees. A press release from Hyundai Motor Group on Dec. 4, 2025, stated that the initiative, spearheaded by Hyundai Autoever CEO Kim Yoon-goo, brought together 650 employees in an attempt to promote an engaging work culture and esports significance in community building.

The company selected six popular games among employees, including Riot’s premium multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) League of Legends and Blizzard’s Real-Time Strategy (RTS) title StarCraft. After the initial stages, around 30 employees were selected for the final round, which was broadcast live on YouTube. To create a real esports tournament-like atmosphere, the company took a step ahead and used professional esports commentators for the finals. 

In its statement, Hyundai Autoever highlighted that the esports festival was designed to establish communication and foster a more open corporate culture, positioning digital competition as a tool for creating connection. The company emphasized that the initiative is part of a broader employee experience program, which includes interactive formats aimed at breaking hierarchical barriers within the organization.

Autoever Rock Festival and Hyundai’s Esports Strategy

This is not Hyundai’s first attempt to leverage esports as a communication channel. The company has supported sim-racing events, gaming activations, and digital motorsports campaigns in recent years to associate the brand with innovation and youth culture.

The company partnered with KUNOS Simulazioni to launch the Hyundai N Virtual Cup, a global sim-racing competition in 2024. The event targeted motorsports communities and showcased the company’s commitment to strategic engagement with a $100K prize pool. The company also held a gaming event, Hyundai N e-Festival, back in 2020.

However, the recent esports festival, Autoever Rock Festival, marks a shift for Hyundai’s usual consumer outreach efforts. It tests esports as an internal engagement mechanism, joining company employees with competitive gaming for better team-building and cross-department collaboration. Hyundai further emphasized that it will create more such initiatives in the future to boost company culture.