DirectTV and IGN have teamed up with Microsoft and a bunch of other companies to put together a new pro-gaming series that launches next year.

The Championship Gaming Series is a new professional gaming league that will air competitions exclusively on DirectTV.

Next weekend DirectTV and company will take over a 16,000-square-foot airplane hanger at the former Treasure Island Naval Base in San Francisco and turn it into an indoor video game arena.

Production company A. Smith & Co. will use 16 HD cameras to film the two-day invitational event. No word on how the competitors for the event were chosen, but they will be playing a variety of games including Battlefield 2, Project Gotham Racing, Halo 2, Dead or Alive 4 and Counter-Strike 1.6.

The Championship Gaming Invitational is one of three gaming specials DirectTV plans to air this year. This weekend's event will air in August. This almost makes me want to switch from Comcast to DirectTV. Brian Crecente

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