 "Severity" was announced by game developer John Romero at the 2006 CPL Championship Finals.Despite the CPL announcing that it would be ceasing tournament operations on March 13, 2008, and then being acquired by an investment group based in the United Arab Emirates on August 25, 2008, Escalation Studios managing director Tom Mustaine confirmed on that the game was still in development, however, it was not the primary focus of the studio at the given time.In an interview from October 28, 2009, CPL founder Angel Munoz confirmed that production on "Severity" had ended, stating that they had not found a publisher and thus additional funds for the game.