I’d wager there’s a new web series filmed and published every day. Of those, I’m sure less than 5% ever see a profit, though a few more might see some cash to cover expenses and pay crew members. The Guild, whose third season started last week, is not that kind of series.

A huge hit with online role playing gamers (MMORPG players) and others who need something entertaining to watch once a week, The Guild is experiencing something rare for online entrepreneurs: Success. The series follows the lives of a small group of players, who spend hours inside the game talking to each other and fail to develop social skills beyond talk of “leveling up” and winning “gold.” At the recent BlizzCon, the convention for World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo gamers, of whom there are millions, The Guild cast members were extremely popular.

“Everyone there knew who they were,” the show’s director, Sean Becker, told me. The show has raked in tens of millions of fans.

And, with fans, comes money!

(This season’s first episode embedded after the jump). Felicia Day, the series creator known to some web series’ fans from Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog, struck a much publicized deal with Microsoft, which had the privilege of exclusively releasing the show on Xbox (and later) MSN and Zune. The series has also been sponsored by Sprint and has a DVD deal as well. Those licensing deals, in which Day has retained the rights to her show, has meant more money for The Guild, enough to increase the production quality and pay more employees. I’m told by a crew member that production on season three was much less ad hoc and run more like a traditional film or TV series. That’s much more than most web series crews can say. Sponsorship deals — in which a brand/advertiser essentially pays for the production of a show in exchange for distribution rights, product placement or sole advertising privileges — is one of the prominent business models for an industry desperately in need of one. Let’s hope The Guild can use its success to become a long-running franchise and restore confidence in this emerging art form.

The appeal of the show is its breezy comedy and peculiar characters, at the center of which is the relatable and perky Felicia Day. Take a look for yourself, you might just find yourself hooked. Better yet, visit the series’ homepage and start from the beginning.