Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 25, 2026) - Backstageplay Inc. (TSXV: BP.H) (the "Company" or "Backstageplay") is pleased to announce that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange's NEX Board, it has entered into an asset purchase agreement dated May 19, 2026 (the "APA") to acquire certain software, intellectual property, and related technology assets from NeXT Sports Group Inc. ("NeXT").

The aggregate purchase price for the acquired assets is CAD $180,000, payable through the issuance of 1,800,000 common shares of Backstageplay at a deemed price of CAD $0.10 per share.

The acquired assets include an updated version of NeXT's production-tested software platform originally developed to support real-time fan engagement during live sporting events. Key components include:

• Game Listener Source Code – a cloud-native microservice that processes real-time in-game event data and publishes notification messages for downstream platform consumption, with event-based autoscaling designed for efficient live-event operation;
• Game Simulator Source Code – a testing and development environment that simulates live sports event feeds, enabling game engine development, repeatable QA testing, and user acceptance testing without requiring live upstream data feeds; and
• Sports Data APIs – production-ready integrations with third-party sports data feed providers.

The acquired assets also include certain NeXT user databases representing an established audience of sports and gaming users, together with a one-year technology licence to additional proprietary NeXT technologies for use in the gaming and sports betting sector. Any derivative works developed by Backstageplay from the licensed technologies will be owned by the Company in perpetuity.

Backstageplay believes the acquired assets are directly complementary to its strategy of building engagement and rewards experiences connecting brands, fans, live entertainment, and gaming content through its Games Mall platform currently in beta at ParlayRewards.com.

The acquisition provides Backstageplay with immediate access to infrastructure intended to support player acquisition, live sports engagement, event processing, user engagement, and digital rewards fulfillment, including integrations tied to major North American professional sports leagues. The Company believes the transaction will significantly accelerate the planned re-launch of its live sports engagement and rewards platform while reducing development timelines and infrastructure costs.

"This acquisition gives Backstageplay access to a proven and complementary player acquisition channel that has already been tested during live professional sporting events," said Scott White, Chief Executive Officer of Backstageplay. "The integration of these technologies will complement our existing games platform which we intend to re-launch in the coming months. We are excited to work with members of the NeXT team as we integrate their live fan engagement and rewards experience with our existing social gaming products and expertise."

The transaction was negotiated at arm's length and no cash consideration will be paid. The shares issued to NeXT will be subject to contractual resale restrictions for a period of sixteen (16) months, including staged releases tied to certain share price performance conditions.

Following completion of the transaction, Backstageplay will have 26,362,833 common shares issued and outstanding, with NeXT holding approximately 6.83% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares.

About Backstageplay Inc.

Backstageplay Inc. (TSXV: BP.H) is a British Columbia corporation listed on the NEX board of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company is relaunching its social gaming platform in 2026, which will be focused on connecting brands, fans, live entertainment, and other gaming content through measurable engagement, monetization, and loyalty-driven experiences.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities.

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