End of an Era: Beyond The Summit Shuts Down

The esports production, Beyond The Summit’s last event, will be Smash Ultimate Summit 6.

In a sad turn of events, Beyond The Summit (BTS), known for its pioneering approach to many Dota 2 tournaments over the last 11 years, has announced that it will be shutting down. 

The company has made it clear that its employees have been informed about the layoff following this decision. BTS will continue to pay its employees for the next two weeks, honoring the contracts, and will help them get recruited by other organizations, showing sincere commitment to its staff in these challenging times. Additionally, BTS is offering a severance package to help its employees transition as smoothly as possible. 

Like many other companies in the current economic climate, BTS has also felt the need to bring changes to its structure. Many esports companies have either been downsizing the number of employees or finding new ways to continue their operations. Until BTS finds a solution, it will remain closed for the moment. 

Copyright: Todd Gutierrez

Before shutting down, the company will be hosting the highly anticipated Smash Ultimate Summit 6 for one last time — an event that might help the gaming community worldwide transition following the news of the organization’s disbanding. The event will feature some of the top players in the scene, all vying for a chance to take home the title and the grand prize. Meanwhile, some members of the community are trying to get the organization to host a last crowdfunded Summit, but nothing has been set in motion yet.

In their public statement regarding the shutdown, David “LD” Gorman recounted the beginning of BTS – an independent organization that started with two commentators and a common dream. Despite living through countless hardships and managing to come out the brighter end of the tunnel until now, BTS is now on the way to disbanding due to the ongoing recession. No matter how much they desperately scramble and claw, it looks like it’s ding-ding-ding for the organization.

LD also said, “Time was not on our side, and we couldn’t in good conscience continue with our current structure knowing the potential risk to our people.” The official statement ended with the co-founder thanking the different people associated with the Dota 2 community who have directly or indirectly helped BTS and the community as a whole. 

Beyond The Summit will always be known for its commitment to fostering creativity and innovation during at least the initial years of Dota 2 tournaments. Its decision to host the 6th Smash Summit despite being on the verge of closing shop is a testament to that dedication and passion. 

Apart from hosting several successful summit tournaments before, the company also introduced innovations before any other producer. This is evident in their “teamfight recap” feature, the use of battle passes in third-party tournaments in the Source 1 version of the game, and countless broadcast innovations that changed the viewing experience of Dota 2 and brought fresh ideas to esports as a whole.

Bidding farewell to this pioneering esports production company after Summit 6 is undeniably going to bring back countless memories and moments of rushing adrenaline. No matter where esports and Dota 2 goes from here, Beyond The Summit will remain one of the biggest names in the esport’s storied history.