In 2025, the leadership team behind the iconic esports organization Complexity decided to shut down the brand. It was all about financial woes, the kind that perturb countless organizations in the esports space, but these issues became insurmountable. The closure of the company came just short of two years after Jason Lake, the company’s founder, reacquired the organization.
Now, in a new video uploaded to social media, Lake has explained what went wrong, why Complexity failed, and where he goes from here. In his words, he’s not done with the business, and he’s not retiring… Yet.
What Happened to Complexity?
This month, founder and CEO of Complexity, Jason Lake, has officially confirmed the full shutdown of the firm. This comes a few months after the winding down of the organization that happened at the tail end of 2025, following years of financial struggles.
In March 2024, Lake reacquired his company from GameSquare, a holding company, for the princely sum of $10.36 million, but the deal was cut using a heavy seller-financed ‘note’ of $9.61 million. That meant he waltzed into the acquisition already weighed down by debt.
Because the remaining debt couldn’t be cleared, Complexity was ultimately sunsetted, and ownership of the IP defaulted back to GameSquare, which has yet to reveal any plans for the organization – and might not.
In his video, Lake explained:
Quite a long story made short, at the end of last year, we decided to go ahead and shut down Complexity.
We knew it would be an uphill battle, but we surveyed the landscape, where the business was at, and prospects for raising capital to pay off the seller-held note, and decided the best thing to do was to shut it down in an orderly and professional way rather than crashing it into the sun.
For the first time in 23 years, myself and my core team of coworkers are no longer a part of Complexity, which feels weird to say.
Lake immediately pivoted to talking about all the happier times during Complexity’s lengthy lifecycle, thanking his colleagues, investors, and partners for the journey that started way back in 2003. He also thanked the fans, because without them, there would never have been an organization – or at least, not one worth running.
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He said:
We have transferred the IP of Complexity back to GameSquare, so the IP is still out there, but me and my core team are no longer associated or have any say or ownership whatsoever.
In terms of myself, I am not done, no way. I’ve taken a much-needed sabbatical this year, I’ve got some rest. It has been something I’ve really needed. I am extremely excited to build something new.
Are you excited to see what Jason Lake does next? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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