compLexity exits CS2, drops entire roster amid financial struggles

North American esports organization compLexity shared the unexpected news they are letting go of their CS2 roster, and stepping away from the game entirely. The CS2 roster is currently ranked #20 in the Valve Rankings, but peaked as high as #13 earlier in the year.

compLexity was one of the oldest North American orgs still involved in the Counter-Strike scene. CoL's involvement in the Counter-Strike scene began in 2003, and they've fielded teams across four iterations of the game; Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source, CS:GO and CS2. The last time compLexity did not have a full Counter-Strike roster was 2014, making the news quite a shock.

The news of compLexity's exit from Counter-Strike 2 was shared personally by CompLexity CEO Jason Lake via a video post on social media. Jason Lake shared that it was a "tough day" for the organization but that the motivation for the decision was very simple.

"After a real strong 2023 and 2024, 2025 in the esports economy has really been challenging for us," said Jason Lake in an official video post. "Quite simply we have not been able to drive enough revenue to afford to properly support a tier 1 team."

"We could have probably dragged things out a bit longer, but we wanted to make sure we do right by our players, and the division. This was the right thing for us to do at this time."

The founder of compLexity added attempts to find additional investment and revenue to keep hold of their Counter-Strike 2 roster were unsuccessful.

"It's been an incredibly difficult time economically, and with shrinking revenues this year, it kind of forced our hand," said Jason Lake. "[...] I know this is disappointing to a lot of people, but I promise we did the best we could."

While the exit marks the end of an era for CoL, the players themselves quickly found stability with a new home.

The former compLexity line-up has joined Passion UA, with the exception of Cxzi who remains a free agent. Passion UA's existing player Vladyslav "Kvem" Korol will complete the team. The rest of the former Passion UA roster was released on August 15.

Jason Lake confirmed compLexity have no immediate plans to return to Counter-Strike 2.

Featured Image: ESL / Adam Lakomy