Guild CEO on entering CS:GO: “Our interest has been pulled in other areas but we’re still considering it”

British esports organization Guild are in some of esports’ biggest titles and, in November 2020, they revealed that they were looking into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as their next game of choice.

Almost a year has passed since then and, as fans of the David Beckham-owned org will know, they’ve yet to sign a roster and start competing in the Valve title.

Guild even signed analyst and journalist Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields as a consultant to ensure that they entered CS:GO in a strong manner. At the time of the announcement, he said that he would help the org “develop their model for the team and advise on players and staff.”

As part of an exclusive interview spanning all facets of the British team with Dexerto, Guild Esports’ CEO, Kal Hourd, revealed where they currently stand on officially entering the first-person shooter.

ESL/Guild

Not much has been said on the agreement between Thorin and Guild since the initial announcement.

“We announced that we were looking into CS:GO, we had an interest in entering and still do, but there’s been a lot of changes on the CS:GO front and our attention has been pulled in other areas,” Hourd told Dexerto in an in-depth interview.

“We promised our shareholders that we were going to make smart decisions and we were going to enter titles that made sense. There are some other titles that we’re excited about but we’re still considering CS:GO.”

• Read More: Guild reveal £4.3m loss over six months

Guild was the first esports organization to list themselves on the London Stock Exchange, meaning they’re a public company that allows retail investors — everyday people who want to put some cash into companies they believe in — to own a piece of them.

They’re beholden to their investors, like any company, and thus have to make decisions that seem sound and sensible for shareholder confidence and their stock price to move in the right direction.

While CS:GO isn’t off the agenda for Guild, their CEO elaborated on the fact there are other titles that may have caught their eyes in a more serious way since the announcement last November. They currently field competitors in CS competitor Valorant, Rocket League, FIFA, and Fortnite.

“I can’t really divulge that but I can say we’re interested in EA and Riot Games, and some titles that are popular in other countries as well,” Hourd revealed to Dexerto. “There are opportunities to expand outside the UK.”

• Read More: PGL Major Stockholm closer to reality after Sweden relaxes restrictions

Outside of Valorant, Riot Games’ other titles include League of Legends — which has a well-fleshed-out competitive system — auto battler Teamfight Tactics, collectible card game Legends of Runeterra, and mobile game League of Legends: Wild Rift.

On the EA front, it has plenty of games but not many of them have well-established competitive scenes. Outside of FIFA, their prominent esports titles are battle royale Apex Legends and American football game Madden.

So, while there hasn’t been any discernible progress on Guild signing a CS:GO roster of their own, they’ve not yet given up on the possibility of it happening should the right decision present itself in the future.