CGS shuts down
The Championship Gaming Series has officially shut down and all employees have been laid off.
A statement on the CGS site reads:
Today BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV ended their Championship Gaming Series® (CGS) joint venture.
While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim.
A rough estimate of housing costs for the 2007 World Final is $216,000 spent over a five week period (arrived at by attempting to book a one bedroom apartment at the Oakwood Marina Del Rey complex for that period–not counting volume discounts). This pales in comparison to player and GM salaries for one season–estimated at $2.1 million, not counting bonuses (each player estimated at $10,000 per season and GMs at $50,000).
An additional $500,000 payout to the winners of the World Final, $150,000 to the runner up, $70,000 each to the third and fourth place teams and $30,000 each to 5th-8th place would put salaries at $3.17 million for the 2007 season.
Additional video production and staff costs will likely never be known.
In any event, the shutdown of CGS is a blow to the world of professional gaming (but maybe not competitive gaming or e-sports), as a large number of pros who were banking on having some guaranteed income this year are now out of a paycheck.
The news follows the shutdown of the CPL earlier this year, though it has now allegedly been resurrected.
Read the full statement after the jump.
AN IDEA WHOSE TIME CAME TOO EARLY
Today BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV ended their Championship Gaming Series® (CGS) joint venture.
While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim.
Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and conceived of CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the economics just didn’t add up for us at this time.
Our only regret is that we will lose a team of creative and talented individuals who invested their hearts and souls into Championship Gaming Series. We recognize their achievements and thank them for their hard work and passion.
BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV continue to be committed to the video games sector, which is an important part of many of our customers’ lives and a great source of entertainment.
19. November 2008 at 2:44 pm :
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23. February 2009 at 2:22 am :
[...] 18th, it was announced that the 3rd and US’s biggest professional gaming organization was shutting down, following the demise of both the WSVG in September, and The CPL in March. One could easily get the [...]
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