Deviant Legal

Founding Partner

René Otto is an award-winning video game lawyer and founder of Deviant Legal. He is considered by many to be one of the leading video game lawyer in Europe. He specializes in commercial contracts, IP/IT and employment law matters.

Examples of cases René handles are video game licensing & publishing agreements; protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights; compliance with European consumer laws; and high stakes litigation in the video games industry.

René acts as a trusted legal advisor for over 300 developers, publishers and esports companies. Some examples of the clients he works with include Newzoo, Poki, Vertigo Games, PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions and Team Liquid.

Considering his unique knowledge on the legal aspects of the video games and esports industry, he is frequently invited to speak on international events and as a guest lecturer at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas).

René has frequently represented the video games industry on a(n) (inter)national level on topics, including on the evaluation of the Dutch Copyright Act and European consumer law protection. This has been done in close collaboration with the Video Games Federation Netherlands.

René Otto’s awards and recognitions: Best Young Talent – Gouden Zandlopers (2021) Inclusion Award – Dutch Game Awards (2025)

Dutch, English

Breda Game City (Founder & Secretary) Dutch Game Mentors (Mentor) Belgian Game Mentors (Mentor) LGIN Finland (Mentor) Dutch Esports Association (Advisory Board Member) Make-A-Wish Foundation (Advisory Board Member) GAMEHEARTS (Advisory Board Member)