It's a sad time for professional game players. Over on the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) website, they've announced that the league will cease operations, and all events scheduled for 2008 would be canceled. More on this after the jump.

Blizzard's World of Warcraft has made it into the primary lineup for this year's World Series of Video Games (WSVG). The game has already started making inroads into the world of eSports with the new Arena system and the subsequent signing of several WoW Arena teams with various eSports sponsors.

Other titles that will be played at this year's WSVG include Fight Night Round 3 and Guitar Hero 2, making for a pretty eclectic game lineup. The total prize money up for grabs at this year's WSVG is set at US$ 1M, a quarter of which will be winnable at the event's finals competition towards the end of the year.

This year's WSVG will be the second season for the relatively new eSports competition since it rose from the ashes of the Cyberathlete Professional League. The WSVG will be kicking off next month in Wuhan, China, and will conclude in December for the championships at the world's biggest LAN party, Dreamhack in Sweden.

We mentioned it a few days back, but now there's something interesting to add. Severity, the recently-announced multiplayer FPS for PCs and an unspecified console, is being set up as the game that will help multiplayer competitions to grow just about everywhere. Now, we have video of its announcement!

This video we picked up from Kotaku features the announcement of Severity from the viewpoint of Cyberathlete Professional League president, John Romero. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he made the infamously bad Daikatana. Worse still, we think he has the same hair from when he was making that game.

Oh well, it's still nice to see him announcing a game. At the very least, he has conviction when he says a game is going to be awesome. Let's just hope that when id Software comes out with the beta in 2007, we can all agree with his assertion, for once.

Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), has announced the development of Severity, a new multiplayer first person shooter designed for PC and consoles. However, CPL hasn't specified which consoles the game will be on.

Severity's focus would be on two gameplay modes: team-vs-team and one-on-one. It's built by developer id Software and features tournament support, spectator modes, and statistics covering both players and tournaments. It also offers support for gamers worldwide playing in online and live tourneys.

According to Tom Mustaine, Director of Game Development, "Severity will be the first videogame conceived from the ground up to ensure the growth and appeal of multiplayer game competitions worldwide."

The league plans to have the new game up for beta testing by the end of next year.

CPL, based in Dallas, TX, was founded by Angel Munoz in 1997 as a professional sports tournament for electronic games.

Videogames and drugs? As more gamers try to become cyberathletes for fun and profit, some may be influenced to enhance their performance by using illegal substances. Apparently, that's one nuance of pro-gaming the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) is trying to stop.

Starting next year, player contracts for the CPL will include a clause that requires gamers to submit to a drug test if asked to by CPL officials. This is to prevent players not only from using contraband, but to keep games fair.

According to Angel Munoz, the League's president, "It should concern anybody in eSports, because as the stakes get larger, as in any sport, people will look for an edge." The testing will be random, so not everyone will be required to give samples, but the caution the CPL is taking should lessen the instances of drugs popping up in gaming tourneys. 

Of the drugs the CPL will be looking out for in 2007, Ritalin and crystal meth are supposed to be most prevalent. The two reportedly increase concentration, sharpen reflexes, and strengthen mental stamina, three things definitely needed by professional gamers.

Luckily, they won't be banning caffeine from tournaments, so you can stock up on Red Bull. Just be careful not to get a heart attack from so much caffeine.