Don't disagree, but Quake already had a competitive scene before counterstrike with prize pools + tournaments too.

Yes, crucial omission - and that was 1996!

	▲	StilesCrisis 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		One big difference to note: Quake in 1996 didn't host central infrastructure or have any expectations of recurring revenue. By 2007 things had changed. WOW was built around Blizzard-hosted infra and recurring revenue as central design pillars.