Severity Announcement
In 2006, John Romero made a surprise announcement during the CPL Championship Finals, revealing a new competitive first person shooter project titled Severity. The announcement was broadcast from Redwood City, California, directly to the event held at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas.
Hey everybody, this is John Romero coming directly to you from Redwood City, California, beaming straight down into the Hyatt for the 2006 CPL Championship Finals. Now, what I'd like to talk about is something that is really cool and it's brand new and we're announcing it at this event and that is guess what? CPL is going to have their own shooter. It's called Severity.
The Project
Severity was intended to be the official FPS for the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), designed specifically for both team and solo competitive play.
Romero described it as “the ultimate FPS for team and solo matches” and said it would serve as the de facto standard for future CPL events.
The project was led by Tom Mustaine, a veteran of Ritual Entertainment and a well known figure in the DOOM and Quake communities. Romero praised him as “a hardcore doomer at heart and awesome Quake player” and expressed full confidence in his ability to lead development.
Engine and Development
Romero revealed that the game would use technology licensed from his old company, id Software, making it a continuation of the design philosophy he helped pioneer.
He emphasized that Severity would combine fast, skill based gameplay with modern engine performance, tailored for professional esports competition.
He's also going to be licensing the engine from my old company id Software. So I think everyone's got a lot to be happy about.
Vision for CPL
Romero’s goal was to give CPL a signature game that could define its tournaments and build a unified competitive scene.
He expressed excitement about the partnership between the CPL and Mustaine’s new team, saying he was “really really happy” about what was coming next.
He's going to build an awesome team and make what we hope is going to be the de facto standard in deathmatch competitions.
Legacy
Despite strong enthusiasm, Severity was never released. Development slowed after the CPL’s eventual financial decline, and the game quietly disappeared without a public build.
Still, the project is remembered as an interesting “what if” in the history of competitive shooters a glimpse at what might have been if Romero had returned to the arena FPS scene with modern esports in mind.