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'Killer Queen Black' drops on Switch and PC October 11th
Nintendo announced a console and PC version of the competitive five-on-five arcade game Killer Queen at E3 2018, and Liquid Bit and BumbleBear have revealed when you can try to ride a snail to victory from the comfort of your couch. Killer Queen Black will hit Switch and PC (through Steam and Discord) October 11th. It was supposed to arrive earlier this year, but at last there's a firm release date.
Overwatch League's latest big change is great for viewers
Picture this: FIFA decides to bring in a rule that changes how every team, from World Cup squads to US Youth Soccer National League orgs, plays. They're forced to field two strikers, four midfielders and four defenders at all times, even though many top teams prefer to have more midfielders supporting one main attacker.
CBS will air the Nintendo World Championships starting August 25th
CBS is set to air the Nintendo World Championships later this month. The trio of esports tournaments -- in which Super Mario Maker 2, Splatoon 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players duked it out -- will debut on August 25th at 1 PM ET. The network will broadcast two more episodes on September 7th at 2 PM and September 14th at 1:30 PM.
Overwatch League will air on live TV in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
The new season of Overwatch League (OWL) will be broadcast live on pay TV channel ESports1 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland starting February 14th. The newly-announced deal between Blizzard and German broadcaster Sport1 -- which recently launched ESports1 as a dedicated eSports channel -- spans two years and also hands it the rights to the Overwatch World Cup and digital card game Hearthstone.
The US Army's 'Street Fighter V' tournament starts Saturday
The US Army is getting in on the esports craze too, but the game isn't one you might expect. Instead of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or Rainbow Six Siege, the military is hosting a tournament for Street Fighter V. The competition will be broadcast on Twitch starting tomorrow from Fort Bliss. The winner from each garrison (tournaments run through the 25th) will go on to the sold-out Grand Finals at PAX West in Seattle on September 1st. What will the winning soldier get for their efforts? A two-night stay at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas along with a $500 gift card, an Army esports jersey, commemorative coin and Twitch gear.
Special Olympics and Microsoft will host a ‘Forza 7’ tournament
This summer's Special Olympics USA Games will host a competition that has nothing to do with sprinting around a track, stretching to touch the wall of a pool or bowling a turkey. For the first time, there's an eSports event at the Games, with eight teams battling it out to win the Forza Motorsport 7 Xbox Gaming Tournament on July 2nd. The teams of two (one with and one without an intellectual disability) progressed through qualifiers at Microsoft Stores across the US.
Official 'Fortnite' tournaments will offer $100 million in prizes
When Epic Games revealed its first, albeit limited-time, Fortnite ranked play mode last week, it promised more details on competitive play would arrive soon. We now know a little more on Fortnite's future in the professional ranks -- Epic is pumping $100 million into tournament prize pools in the game's first year as an eSport.
‘Fortnite’ adds first taste of ranked play with 'Solo Showdown'
Fortnite fans who have been anxious to find out how they truly measure up against the competition can do so right now with the game's first attempt at ranked play in a limited-time event. Epic Games also teased an announcement on competitive play for next week, so this seems like a dry run for a more substantial ranked mode and, eventually, a formal professional scene.
A new generation of high school athletes will play eSports
At the college level eSports are set to explode as more school-supported programs sprout up every day. But officially sanctioned high school esports are essentially nonexistent. Many teachers (and parents) still see video games as a waste of time. Teens looking for competitive team play could previously only find it in the unsung volunteer efforts of online leagues. They've been making do on their own for years, but they can't offer meeting spaces to practice and connect, or validation from adults and authority figures.
Ohio university offers the first 'Fortnite' eSports scholarship
Ohio's Ashland University's new eSports program will be the first in the US to offer player scholarships for the wildly popular battle royale game Fortnite. They plan to field a four-player team alongside squads for Overwatch and League of Legends when the program debuts in the collegiate eSports landscape next fall.
Startup will launch nationwide high school eSports league this fall
Professional eSports is entering the mainstream and the college competitive gaming scene is heating up. But what about high school? One Los Angeles start-up is gearing up to start a nationwide league next fall, and it's looking for teams to sign up -- but it's not looking alone. The venture-backed organization PlayVS has partnered with the Nationial Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) -- the high school version of the NCAA -- to bring eSports to 14.5 million American high schoolers in a national league.
Your gaming skills could earn you a Drone Racing League contract
So you want to be a professional drone racer? Then you should probably download Drone Racing League Simulator from Steam. To coincide with the game's official launch, watchmaker Swatch has announced it's sponsoring tryouts for the 2018 season, where top prize is a spot in the 2018 DRL Allianz World Championship Season and a $75,000 contract. We've seen this type of thing with Gran Turismo before but it'll never not feel kind of Last Starfighter-y.
'Collegiate Rocket League' is invading campuses this fall
The world of competitive gaming has broken out of livestreams and plugged itself into network television. These days, eSports sit alongside traditional sports and popular TV shows on networks ranging from ESPN to TBS. To ensure this industry continues to flourish, developers (such as Riot Games, and Blizzard) are supporting grassroots college eSports groups. And, so too is Psyonix, the company behind the modern multiplayer classic Rocket League. In partnership with college gaming network TeSPA, the developer is putting its weight behind a new competitive college league.
TBS to air four-part docuseries on 'Dota 2' tournament competitors
Turner Broadcasting announced today that TBS will air a four part documentary about players preparing for and competing in this year's The International Dota 2 Championships. The series is produced by Turner's eSports branch ELEAGUE, which started airing competitions on TBS last year.
Blizzard launches an 'Overwatch' league for amateurs
Blizzard's colorful shooter may be one of the most popular multiplayer games out right now, but its eSport scene hasn't exactly got off to the best start. With rumors circulating that a slot in Overwatch's official League costs between $15 and $25 million, pro teams have started to abandon the game in droves. Now, in a bid to win them back, Blizzard has announced a new entry-level league for the game called Overwatch Contenders.
'Overwatch' streamer destroys his in-game imposter
Brian St. Pierre is called Kephrii in the competitive Overwatch scene, and he's known as the highest ranked Widowmaker player in the world. He recently ran into a hacker impersonating his gamer tag and using cheats, but instead of getting mad, the real Kephrii got even. While streaming the match on Twitch, St. Pierre showed off his skills by consistently killing the fake Kephrii, who played Widowmaker, then Tracer (two different character classes), on the opposing team.
'Two Dots' now has a competitive mode where you can play for real money
Two Dots is a unique, beautiful and meditative puzzle game that exudes a level of polish rarely found in mobile games. So it was a bit of a surprise to see its developer, Dots, announce that it was partnering with the recently launched Sparcade to release a competitive version of Two Dots -- one in which players can put down real money. Would the fairly chill gameplay of Two Dots make any sense in a competitive environment?
Overwatch League is Blizzard's eSports incubator
Blizzard has its own official eSports league for Overwatch, aptly dubbed Overwatch League. It works a lot like traditional sports. Major cities in North and South America, Europe, China, Korea and the South Pacific will have a team. Those teams are comprised of the best players coming out of a sort of open competition called a "combine." From there, they'll be drafted and sign contracts with a guaranteed salary and benefits. The team spots will be secured, according to developer/publisher Blizzard, as a way to foster local fans and talent "for years to come." And at season's end, the best teams will play against each other live, in front of a global audience. Sound familiar?
PlayStation 4 has a pair of controllers made for pro gamers
The Xbox One has the Elite gamepad to satisfy the platform's pro gamers or people who just want a really nice gamepad. But Sony fans are stuck with a controller that's barely changed since the Playstation 4 launched in 2013. Rather than crafting one itself, Sony has announced it's working with the folks at Razer and Nacon to develop a pair of tournament-ready sticks.
'Hearthstone' shakes up how tournaments will work
Blizzard's Hearthstone has been a darling on the pro gaming circuit for awhile, and the card game's next season should cement its eSports focus even further. A big part of that is how its developer is organizing competitions, rankings and how tournament points are doled out. The company is also changing the types of tournaments offered.
