North American esports tournament operator and production company Beyond the Summit (BTS) has laid off all its full-time staff, the company announced via social media.
BTS’ Managing Partner David Gorman issued the statement via Twitter, stating that the company will offer its staff severance and benefits, as well as fulfil all existing contracts with all clients.
Beyond the Summit is a prominent esports tournament operator in North America. The company is known for its focus on the grassroots scene and community involvement. Founded 11 years ago, BTS produced Dota 2, Super Smash Bros, Counter-Strike tournaments, among others.
In Gorman’s statement, he said that BTS has worked hard to “create a pipeline of business” to help it survive the current economic conditions, but unfortunately it did not end up as the company desired. Even though BTS has enough capital to stay afloat, the management decided that it is better to use the funding available to provide the best possible transitions to its staff.
Gorman said in a statement: “If we keep going, and things don’t improve, we could run the company into the ground and not be able to pay anyone anything. But if we let everyone go now, we can give them advance notice, a headstart to figure out future plans, and good severance offers.”
This means that BTS staff will be kept on the payroll for the next two weeks, and will be offered two weeks of severance pay, plus additional severance based on how long each employee was part of the company. BTS will also pay for healthcare for all employees until the end of April.
The silver lining is that BTS is open to “exploring other paths forward”, meaning that the company’s owners will talk to interested parties to see whether there is a way to keep the BTS brand alive. The company will also run the Smash Ultimate Summit 6 and fulfil all existing contracts.
Unfortunately, BTS is just another one in the series of esports companies facing difficult times in 2023. Just a couple of days ago, esports organisation The Guard shut down as well as British organisation TENSTAR. Major esports companies such as 100 Thieves and FaZe Clan have also laid off a large number of staff in 2023.
BTS has compiled a list of employees that can be accessed by anyone interested in hiring its former staff.
