Severity

The Cyberathlete Professional League® (CPL), the world’s most recognized brand in professional videogame tournaments, today announced the creation of project Severity, a new multiplayer game developed for both PC and console systems.

Severity is a multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) focusing on team-versus-team and one-versus-one play modes. Additionally, the game offers unprecedented support for gamers worldwide playing in online and live competitions both casually and professionally.

“Severity will be the first videogame conceived from the ground up to ensure the growth and appeal of multiplayer game competitions worldwide,” said Tom Mustaine, Director of Game Development at the CPL’s new studio.

Severity is built on technology created by developer id Software™ and includes enhanced tournament support, spectator modes, as well as detailed player and tournament statistics tracking. By leveraging the enthusiastic community and practical experiences of the CPL, Severity is uniquely positioned to set new standards while raising the bar for competitive multiplayer games.

According to Mr. Mustaine, former studio director of Dallas-based Ritual Entertainment, the league expects to begin testing the new game with members of the video-gaming community before the end of 2007.

View John Romeros video announcing Severity at the Championship Finals.

Severity will be released as a playable demo in early 2007 with the full release mid 2008, and will feature 1v1 and 5v5 game types and be based off of the Quake 3 engine. From release of the demo until the finished product the Severity team will be taking input from top eSports teams as well as the community to hopefully make a great competitve game. The CPL has announced that there will be no restrictions for Severity, meaning that any LAN or tournament can use it without having to license it from CPL.