Kotaku Compete shuts down

Kotaku and Deadspin's joint venture into esports coverage is shutting down. Compete has been effectively terminated, with two of its writers exiting the company and the third remaining as an editor at Kotaku proper.

Esports coverage will continue on Kotaku, but Compete will officially close down next week. The site has been live since March of 2017, and according to Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo is closing due to budget cuts at owner Univision.

The closure was announced in a notice published to the site today by departing editor Dennis Young.

"It was a joy to bring this weird little corner of the sports and gaming worlds to our readers," it read. "We'd particularly like to thank our peers in the esports media and 11 Deadspin commenters, who both equally appreciated our decision to cover esports like sports. Esports is a rich topic worthy of skeptical, thorough, and fun journalism, and we're grateful that a vertical premised on that was able to attract a large and growing readership. This also would not have been possible without enthusiastic writing and editing contributions from Kotaku and Deadspin staffers, and a dedicated and patient crew of freelance writers."