PlayLikeS1mple Esports Training Academy Shuts Down – Subscribers Receive Refunds

The PlayLikeS1mple esports training academy, founded by brothers Alexander and Alexei Kostylev, generated a lot of initial buzz and interest from the gaming community. The school promised to provide aspiring players with the same level of instruction and mentorship that had helped make counter-strike legend Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev one of the best players in the world. However, the venture proved to be short-lived, as the PlayLikeS1mple academy unexpectedly closed its doors in less than two months of operation. All subscribers to the program are now receiving refunds for their membership fees, leaving many would-be students disappointed and questioning what led to the academy’s abrupt demise. The rapid rise and fall of the PlayLikeS1mple project highlights the challenges of launching and sustaining a successful esports education business. Despite the Kostylev brothers’ efforts to capitalize on the growing popularity of competitive gaming, they were unable to maintain the momentum, resources and support needed to keep the school operating over the long term.

This turn of events serves as a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs looking to enter the lucrative but highly competitive esports industry. Establishing a viable, long-term training academy requires not only significant funding and infrastructure, but also the ability to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions, attract and retain top-tier instructors, and build a loyal student base. Factors that ultimately proved difficult for the PlayLikeS1mple project to overcome in its short lifespan. The abrupt closure and refund process has likely left many aspiring players and fans disappointed, as the school had generated considerable interest and expectations within the CS2 community. This incident underscores the volatility and challenges inherent in the burgeoning esports education sector, where successful ventures must be able to deliver on their promises and provide lasting value to students.

The Rise and Rapid Decline of the PlayLikeS1mple Esports Academy

At the launch of the PlayLikeS1mple esports academy, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev – one of the best Counter-Strike 2 players in the world – had made some enticing promises to prospective students. He pledged to host regular community events and tournaments exclusively for the school’s subscribers, as well as create a dedicated Discord server where participants could directly interact with the legendary player himself. s1mple had also expressed a desire to help improve the overall Counter-Strike experience, stating he wanted to see fewer bugs in the game and more focus on teamwork and strategy. This suggested the academy would provide valuable tactical and mental insights from one of the greatest players in CS2 history. The school officially opened its doors on May 13th, 2023, and for nearly a month, viewers were able to access free content and glimpse the type of high-level instruction s1mple and his team had planned for the paid subscription model. In the early days, co-founder Alexey Kostylev shared impressive statistics about the project’s reach – an audience of 27 million people, 80,000 registered users, and 10 million social media impressions. These numbers reflected the huge initial interest and excitement surrounding the launch of the PlayLikeS1mple academy. The curriculum was designed to cover a wide range of topics, from in-depth game mechanics and weapon mastery to advanced team strategies and mental performance. Subscribers were promised personalized feedback and analysis of their gameplay, along with custom training regimens tailored to their individual skill levels and roles. The academy’s promotional materials emphasized s1mple’s hands-on involvement in the program, suggesting students would have direct access to his expertise and guidance.

However, in early June, the academy began selling annual subscriptions, with an introductory price of $97 that later increased to $149. This suggested the Kostylev brothers were confident in their ability to deliver on the promises made to attract a large student base. But less than two months after launch, all users received notices that they would be receiving full refunds for their memberships. Prior to the refund announcements, some subscribers had already begun complaining that the three free tutorial videos on the site had been made unavailable for over two weeks, with the content being made private and inaccessible. This foreshadowed the ultimate collapse of the project, as students were no longer able to access even the basic free offerings.

To date, Alexander “s1mple” Kostylev himself has not publicly commented on the sudden closure of the PlayLikeS1mple school. This has left many in the Counter-Strike community puzzled and eager for an official explanation about what doomed the high-profile esports training venture. Speculation has centered around a few potential factors. Some have suggested the Kostylev brothers may have underestimated the operational and logistical challenges of running a large-scale online academy, particularly one featuring a celebrity instructor. Others have pointed to potential issues with content creation, instructor recruitment, or platform scalability as contributing to the project’s rapid demise. There are also questions about whether the initial marketing hype and subscriber numbers reflected genuine long-term demand, or if the academy simply attracted a surge of interest that it ultimately could not sustain. The abrupt closure and refund process has likely left many aspiring players and fans disappointed, as the school had generated considerable excitement and expectations within the CS2 community.

This incident serves as a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs looking to enter the burgeoning esports education sector. Successful ventures must not only have a compelling curriculum and star power, but also the resources, infrastructure, and operational expertise to deliver on their promises over an extended period. The volatility and challenges inherent in this space were clearly underestimated by the Kostylev brothers, resulting in the PlayLikeS1mple academy’s rapid and unexpected demise. As the esports industry continues to grow, more players, teams, and content creators will likely seek to capitalize on the demand for high-quality training and mentorship. However, the PlayLikeS1mple example demonstrates that even projects backed by renowned personalities can struggle to translate initial hype into a sustainable, long-term business model. Future esports academies will need to learn from this experience and ensure they have the necessary foundations in place to avoid a similar fate.