Esports

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Halo Infinite

Official HCS

HCS 2021-2022 Season Reveal

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/11/Esports_2021_HCS_542.305-1024x576.png" alt="Banner graphic for the Halo Championship Series and Halo Infinite"/></figure>



Hey everyone! I want to start by saying THANK YOU to everyone who grabbed their tickets for the now sold out HCS Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021. Wow. We knew that the community was going to be excited to be under one roof again and especially this time with a new Halo game, but we were all blown away by the response. I want you to know that record-breaking support like that from our community has an even longer term impact on the scene overall and at a high level that’s actually the topic of today’s blog. Before that though, some housekeeping.



Welcome back to another installment in our blog series, Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem. The goal of this blog series is to detail how we are working to develop a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for Halo esports. If you’re interested in our philosophical approach to esports as a fan, player, team, tournament organizer, or sponsor, then this blog series is for you! If you’re hoping to learn specifics about format and roadmap, stay tuned, more info will be released as we get closer to the launch of Halo Infinite. We know there are lots of questions right now for Raleigh including PC and monitor specs, and much more. Those will all be answered in the coming weeks as we march on towards launch and the big event. 



If you’re new to the series, thanks for joining us! You can catch up with the first seven installments here:



<ul><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-january">January Installment – Overarching goals and approach</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-february">February Installment – Tournament Operators</a></li><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-march">March Installment – Viewership</a></li><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-april">April Installment – Sponsors</a></li><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-june">June Installment – Teams</a></li><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-july">July Installment – Competition Platforms and Input</a></li><li><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/designing-the-halo-esports-ecosystem-august">August Installment – Team Partnership Program</a></li></ul>



Alright Tashi, what are we talking about today? 



As alluded to above, today my friends we are talking about the role that players and fans have in the ecosystem and what you can do to help grow the scene. 



Let’s dig in!



<h2> THE POWER IS YOURS </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/11/image-6185bce7caea0-1024x477.png" alt="Epic black and white photo of a fan standing up and cheering at the Halo World Championship"/></figure>



For this entire series we’ve talked about how the Halo esports ecosystem is comprised of so many different groups and how they all fit together. Fans and Players are the most critical part of this ecosystem. Here’s what we said way back in January when we kicked off this series: 



<ul><li>Players (Pro, Amateur, and general competitive players): This one is obvious. The players are central to the entire ecosystem and without a healthy player base for the entire game, the ecosystem is not sustainable. This is mission critical.</li><li>Fans (Viewers, Event Spectators, fans who engage in-game): Fans and viewers are also critical – we want as many people watching Halo Infinite tournaments and content as possible, and it’s important for us to take strides to increase viewership.</li></ul>



The first and main message we want to get across is that each and every one of you can make a difference and have an impact. No, seriously. Every show that you decide to watch on Twitch, every tournament you decide to compete in, every retweet on Twitter and like on YouTube – they all matter. If every individual feels empowered to make a difference, then collectively as a community we will make a huge impact. 



I sometimes get asked, “Tashi, I love Halo esports and want to help it grow. What can I do?” Today we’re going to list out exactly what you can do!



<h2> PLAYER AND PRO PLAYER CHECKLIST </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/11/image-6185ba8046bca-1024x439.png" alt="Photo of Pro Player Lucid at DreamHack Anaheim 2020"/></figure>



Let’s start with the Pro Players – folks like Frosty, Tripppey, Respectful, Tapping Buttons, BZllRK, and of course so many more across the world. Outside of grinding to win every tournament you enter, here are the ways we think you can be contributing to the health of the ecosystem and thus the health of your careers. (Please bear with me, this might get preachy)



<ul><li>Stream when you play: For those that already stream all the time, kudos to you and we’re excited to see you grow when Halo Infinite releases! For those that don’t stream, we know it’s been hard while waiting for a new game but it’s go-time when Infinite drops. Streaming is one of the most powerful and impactful things you could be doing as a professional Halo player<a>. </a>Here’s why:<ul><li>You get to have a community of your own that supports you, including financially through subscriptions and donations. </li><li>You have a wealth of VOD content that lets you spread your reach and grow your community even more when you get to post awesome stream clips on social media. </li><li>You are far more attractive to teams and sponsors, which again means more financial support for you. Even if you have a small audience, if you’re putting in the work then that makes a big difference.</li><li>Fans have a place to watch you before and after a tournament. If you pop off on the mainstage, people are going to want to watch you the next time you turn on your stream. If you don’t stream, they’re either not going to watch anyone or they’re just going to watch someone else. </li><li>You can help bring in more viewers into the stream and as noted above and in prior blogs – viewers are critical. You don’t get to compete and be a pro player without viewers.</li><li>There are going to be many online tournaments and also opportunities to stream your scrims – this is really great content that will attract even more viewers than your normal streams in the ranked p<a>laylist.</a> Progress might be slow, but if you focus on consistency as the goal then you will be rewarded in the long run. </li></ul></li><li>Be a positive influence: <a>Not every pro player is going to be a role model that everyone looks up to – and that’s ok. However, using your social media platforms or streams as places to dump toxic waste about the game, the ecosystem or really anything for that matter into the community is a bad idea.</a> Players who are positive and professional will have more opportunities, will be more attractive to fans and sponsors, and will have a bigger influence on the future of the game, community, and ecosystem. Anger, toxicity, and sarcasm work against you. We all love Halo and want it to have a positive and thriving scene. Be wise in how you use your influence as a pro. Additionally, players will be held to the official code of conduct which details behavior that is not acceptable in our scene, and we as a community need to hold each other to high standards on top of that.</li><li>Be active on social media: The conversation for Halo esports is on social media, and it’s mostly on Twitter. Between events, it’s a great way to not only connect with fans, but also connect and chat with other pro players. There lots of great conversations that many fans would be interested in seeing, and overall it helps drive interest into you and your brand as professional Halo player. </li><li>Promote your Team’s cosmetics: If you’re on a partnered Team, you should be wearing your Team’s cosmetic items as much as you can on stream and even off stream as well. The Team’s will be earning revenue from each of the sales and their success in Halo means they can continue to invest in the scene to pay player salaries, managers, team houses, and much more. A little goes a long way here. You can add a command to your Twitch channel, pin a tweet on Twitter, and post links in your YouTube videos. Speaking of YouTube…</li><li>EXTRA CREDIT – Start a YouTube channel and upload regularly: YouTube is a great way to bring fans closer to you and provide them entertainment. Not everyone is going to be the next Nadeshot, and that’s ok. You don’t need 100,000 subscribers for the channel to be worthwhile investing some time into, and these days it’s easier than ever to upload gameplays from your Twitch streams directly to your YouTube. There are more Halo fans on YouTube than ever and that will continue to grow.</li></ul>



As a pro player, you can have a tremendous impact on the scene overall which ultimately helps you out directly. Don’t take this opportunity for granted. 



<h2> FAN CHECKLIST </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/11/image-6185bbdc0aac7-1024x389.png" alt="Photo of fan at an HCS event holding a blue cosplay flag from CTF in Halo 5."/></figure>



For the fans out there who love playing and watching Halo – we appreciate you. We know many of you want to see Halo grow because it’s the game and community that you love, and that resonates deeply with us. We want to provide some insights that enable you to have the biggest impact if you’re not sure how you can help. 



<ul><li>Watch events and content: Viewership is critical for the Halo esports scene, and when you watch tournament streams, pro player streams, and even content on YouTube or Twitter – that has a really big impact. Obviously, we need to do our part to entertain you and we take our responsibility there seriously.</li><li>Purchasing in-game content: We are sharing revenue for ALL of the items in the Esports Store within Halo Infinite when the game launches on Day 1. Whether it’s a partnered Team’s bundle or a bundle that represents each of the four major regions and the tournament operators investing there, this is the best way to support these partners directly. The more that the ecosystem can support these partners, the more that they will be able to support the players and fans as time goes on. This is an absolutely critical component of this entire ecosystem. </li><li>Be active on social media: As mentioned earlier, having conversations online about the league, the Teams, the players, and everything going on is a great way to generate more and more excitement for the events and ultimately draw more fans to this awesome community of ours. If your favorite Team is tweeting about Halo, give it a Like/RT and even a reply. Let’s make Halo fans the most active and talkative game in esports!</li></ul>



<h2> CONCLUSION </h2>



For players and fans alike, there are lots of really critical ways that you can support the community and scene that you love. We all want Halo esports to grow, and if we work together and push in the same direction, we can really have a huge impact and bring on more Spartans to our cause. We have to act as a unified community. 



I’d love to hear what other ideas and suggestions you might have! <a href="https://twitter.com/tashi343i">Start a conversation with me on Twitter</a> and let’s keep the ideas flowing!



Until next time,



Tashi

Tashi

Designing The Halo Esports Ecosystem – November

Ranked / Competitive Reveal

HCS Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021

In February 2020, the Halo community joined us at DreamHack Anaheim for what would be the last Halo esports event for nearly two years. A lot has transpired since then as we’ve all been impacted by the global pandemic in some way. When Halo Infinite was originally set to release in 2020, the HCS roadmap we were building at the time was almost completely online with no LAN events in sight. With Halo Infinite’s release moving to 2021, the proliferation of vaccines around the world, as well as regulations and health policy changes, we knew it was time for us to bring the Halo community back together again.



As originally stated, one of our goals is to release the entire first year roadmap for Halo Infinite esports before competition begins. This is still the case, and we are on track to deliver that to everyone in the ecosystem and all of that will be arriving in the coming months. However, because the first event is just around the corner, we wanted to ensure we released that information first so that fans and players were able to prepare in time.



Today, we’re excited to announce the HCS Kickoff Major taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 17-19, 2021 with a starting prize pool of $250,000. Once again, the Halo community will be united under one roof, and this time with an entirely new Halo game to play and watch. In tried-and-true Halo esports fashion, the HCS Kickoff Major will feature an open bracket, seating for spectators, as well as full main stage and featured stations for pool play and the championship bracket. To ensure a world class experience onsite and for viewers at home, we have enlisted none other than Esports Engine to operate the event with us.



<a href="https://hcskickoffmajor.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spectator and VIP tickets</a> for the big event go on sale tomorrow, September 29 at 10am PT.



There are going to be some important differences in how this event will be operated as the health and safety of all players, fans, and staff is of the utmost importance. Please continue reading for more details.



<h2>COVID PROTOCOL</h2>



It’s important to remember that all around the globe we are all in some shape or form living with the realities of a world where COVID-19 and the numerous new variants still exist. We have been working closely with Esports Engine, the Microsoft Security and Events teams, as well as the venue and local government in Raleigh, but we need the help and cooperation of the entire Halo community. 



<h3>ENTRANCE:</h3>



<ul><li>To enter the venue all attendees and staff must complete and attest to their health status, each day, in the Microsoft Health Check App. Entrance into the venue will not be allowed without completion each day, and no exceptions will be made.</li><li>All attendees must also present proof of vaccination as well as a photo ID each time they enter the venue.</li><li>For those not vaccinated, you must provide proof of NEGATIVE COVID-19 test results, from within at least the prior 72hrs each day along with a photo ID each time they enter the venue.</li><li>Per state law, masks will be required to enter the venue.</li></ul>



As per usual, security will be onsite conducting bag checks  and all attendees will be required to pass through metal detectors each time they enter the venue.



<h3>IN VENUE:</h3>



<ul><li>Per state law, masks must remain on all attendees including players and staff, at all times without exception.</li></ul>



It’s also critical to note that the COVID-19 landscape is ever changing, and we will do our best to keep you posted on the very latest event updates right here in this blog, as well as on <a href="https://twitter.com/hcs">@HCS</a> on Twitter. We are always going to prioritize the health and safety of all attendees and staff and will do our best to take necessary measures within our power.



<h2>EVENT FORMAT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/08/DesigningTheHaloEsportsEcosystem_HCS_In_Article_p1_6.30.2021_1120x250-1024x229.png" alt="Image of the HCS Logo illuminated on at an event." class="wp-image-7156" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/08/DesigningTheHaloEsportsEcosystem_HCS_In_Article_p1_6.30.2021_1120x250-1024x229.png 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/08/DesigningTheHaloEsportsEcosystem_HCS_In_Article_p1_6.30.2021_1120x250-300x67.png 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/08/DesigningTheHaloEsportsEcosystem_HCS_In_Article_p1_6.30.2021_1120x250-768x171.png 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2021/08/DesigningTheHaloEsportsEcosystem_HCS_In_Article_p1_6.30.2021_1120x250.png 1120w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Before we jump into the details about format, we want to acknowledge that the news today for competitors will likely spark many questions including ones about qualifiers, how teams get into pool play, points and stakes, how it fits into the overall roadmap, and much more. Today’s blog is meant to set the table, share the details about location and dates so the community can plan to attend, and we’ll have much more information to share in the future including answers to those questions and more. All of this will be shared alongside the entire season roadmap so that you can see how everything fits together and is interconnected. 



So let’s jump into what we can share today. Just below is the standard HCS Major format that will be used in upcoming season, and below that is the slightly modified version of the format that will be used at the HCS Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021.



<h3>STANDARD HCS MAJOR FORMAT</h3>



<ul><li>Open Bracket: Big open brackets where any team can sign up and compete in the tournament are part of Halo’s esports DNA and we hope to see more teams competing this season than ever before. This will be a double elimination bracket where the top 8 teams will move on to the next stage in the tournament. The top 4 from the winner’s bracket moving forward into pool play, and the top 4 from the elimination bracket (or lower bracket) moving on to the championship bracket (starting in the elimination bracket portion). The HCS Majors are global events and will be open to players from around the world.</li><li>Pool Play: We will be providing accommodation and travel stipends for 16 qualified teams made up of teams from North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australia / New Zealand. Teams will be  drawn into 4 pools of 4 where they will be joined with the top 4 teams from the Open Bracket to play in a single round robin format. The Top 2 teams from each pool will go into the winner’s portion of the championship bracket. The 3rd place team will go into round 3 of the elimination portion of the championship bracket. The 4th place team will go into round 2 of the elimination portion of the championship bracket. And finally, the 5th place team in each pool will go into the 1st round of the elimination portion of the championship bracket where they will start in the first round and will face off against teams coming from the elimination portion of the open bracket.</li><li>Championship Bracket: Ultimately, a 24 team double elimination championship bracket-style will determine the tournament winner. This is the culmination of the both the open bracket and pool play, the winner will take home the lion’s share of the $250,000 starting prize pool. Think you’ve got what it takes to make the championship bracket?</li><li>Free-For-All: Once the open bracket has concluded, we will be hosting a Free-For-All tournament with a $5,000 prize pool open to all of those in attendance. More format info will be provided at a later date. </li></ul>



<h3>HCS KICKOFF MAJOR MODIFIED FORMAT</h3>



Because of (a) the limited window between game release and Raleigh; and (b) the inclusive spirit of the HCS, we have a modified format for Raleigh that expands the Championship Bracket from 24 teams to 32 teams. 



For the Open Bracket: The top 16 teams from the Open Bracket will be entered into the Championship Bracket, with 8 from the Open Bracket winners added to Championship winners, and top 8 from the elimination portion of the Open Bracket added to the elimination portion of the Championship Bracket.



For the Pool Play: We will be providing accommodation and travel stipends for 16 qualified teams made up of teams from North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australia / New Zealand. Teams will be drawn into 4 pools of 4 where they will play in a single round robin format. The Top 2 teams from each pool receive a bye and are added to the 2nd round of the winner’s portion of the Championship Bracket. The bottom 2 teams from each pool are added to the 1st round of the winner’s portion of the Championship Bracket where they will compete with the top 8 from the open bracket.



Championship Bracket: In the end, a 32 team double elimination-style championship bracket will determine the tournament winner. This is the culmination of both the open bracket and pool play, the winner will take home the lion’s share of the $250,000 starting prize pool.



<h2>VENUE, TICKETS, TEAM PASSES, AND REFUND POLICY</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/sponsors-banner-2-66dd25d510b4477da96d63a22e9adad7.jpg" alt="Spartan helmet with 343 Industries and Halo banners"/></figure>



Venue: Raleigh Convention Center



Address: 500 S Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27601, HALL B



Starting tomorrow on September 29 at 10am PT, spectator tickets will be available for purchase. We are offering a few different packages and promotions, so let’s jump right into the details.



<h4><a href="https://hcskickoffmajor.eventbrite.com/%20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GENERAL ADMISSION 3-DAY TICKETS</a></h4>



<ul><li>Entrance into event for the entirety of the tournament.</li><li>Access to compete in the Free-For-All tournamnt at no extra charge.</li><li>Price: $50</li></ul>



<h4><a href="https://hcskickoffmajor.eventbrite.com/%20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VIP 3-DAY TICKETS (VERY LIMITED AVAILABILITY)</a></h4>



<ul><li>Early Entry to the Venue</li><li>Dedicated Entry Line at Check-In</li><li>Access to the VIP Lounge</li><li>Limited Edition VIP Credential</li><li>Early access to the Free-for-All Competition Registration (30 minutes before general admission)</li><li>Exclusive Production Tour including photo op on main stage</li><li>A chance at being one of two VIP ticket holders to play in a special show match on Saturday night December 18.</li><li> Price: $100 </li></ul>



Partnered Team Codes: As announced last month, we have 9 partnered Teams that will be competing in the HCS at launch. In order to provide extra value to fans and also allow fans to support their favorite teams directly, you can use any of the below codes at check out to receive a 10% discount on your tickets. When you save 10%, the Teams receive 10%. 



<ul><li>FAZE</li><li>ENVY</li><li>SPACESTATION</li><li>EUNITED</li><li>NAVI</li><li>G2</li><li>CLOUD9</li><li>SENTINELS</li><li>FNATIC</li></ul>



Support your favorite team, and get a discount on spectator tickets. It’s a win-win! If you use a team’s code, be sure to share on Twitter and tag the teams so they know you’ve supported them!



Team Passes: Team passes will  go on sale November 17. We’ll have more details on price, where to purchase, how to register your team, and more at that time. We want to note that all teams will be required to purchase a team pass, including those starting in pool play. Once those teams qualify for pool play ahead of the event, we will provide a refund.



Refund Policy: As mentioned above, circumstances during the pandemic are  ever changing e. For the HCS Kickoff Major, we will have a full refund in the case of the event being canceled or if spectators will no longer be allowed. For any questions regarding the refunds you can email HCSeventsNA@ee.gg.



<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>



It’s been a long time coming but Halo Infinite and the first event are just a few months away. Soon we’ll all be playing some Halo on LAN, watching the best players in the world duke it out for the first time, and of course creating unforgettable moments together as a community. We hope you’ll (safely) join us in North Carolina later this year!

Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021

Updated 9/29: Full results below.



Halo: Combat Evolved launched on the original Xbox in 2001 and once players were finished fighting against the Flood and the Covenant, they quickly turned their crosshairs against each other for pure competitive bliss. What started as rivalry in the household quickly escalated to the neighborhood, local schools and in what seemed like a blink of an eye, Halo esports became a global phenomenon with the level of competition and stakes increasing year after year.



We see Halo Infinite as a continuation of Halo esports’ long lineage, and thus wanted to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the incredible players that paved the way and those that are still dominating today. This is where the Halo Top 25 Greatest Players of All Time list comes in.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/04132021_visid_twitterheader_15000x500-9266b9976e2148cca742b7851197476f.jpg" alt="Keyart for the H C S Top 25 program"/></figure>



<h2>JUDGING</h2>



A panel of judges outside of the HCS team and across all Halo generations were selected and tasked with creating their own individual Top 25 lists.



They are:



<ul><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/Brav/" target="_blank">Bravo </a>– Former Halo Pro Coach, and Commentator</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/Elamite/" target="_blank">Elamite </a>– Former Halo Pro, and Commentator</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/GoldenboyFTW/" target="_blank">Goldenboy </a>– Halo Commentator (Also a Global Icon and National Treasure)</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/Wes_Clutch" target="_blank">Clutch </a>– Former Halo Pro, and Commentator</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/Walshy/" target="_blank">Walshy </a>– Former Halo Pro, and Commentator</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/ggoofy" target="_blank">Goofy </a>– Former Halo Pro, and Commentator</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/Mikwen" target="_blank">Mikwen </a>– Former Halo Pro</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/DanGaskin" target="_blank">Gaskin </a>– Halo Commentator</li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/RichieHeinz" target="_blank">Heinz </a>– Former Halo Pro.</li></ul>



From there, we assigned a point value to each placing for each one of their lists. The 25th player on each of their lists received 1 point, and the 1st player on each of their lists received 25 points. We then tallied up the points for each of the players to create the final and official Top 25 list. The player with the highest total point value was named the Greatest Halo Player of All Time. The player with the 25th highest point value was named the 25th Greatest Halo Player of All Time.



In the case of the two players having the same exact point total, the tie was broken based on which of the tied players received the single highest ranking from one of the judges. For example, imagine two players were tied for 17th. Player A’s highest ranking on one of the judge’s lists was 12th. Player B’s highest ranking on one of the judge’s lists was 13th. Therefore, Player A received 17th on the list, Player B received 18th on the list.



The judges were given the following criteria and guidelines:



<ul><li>Focus on greatness in competition. External greatness around sponsorships, popularity, kindness, etc should NOT be a factor.</li><li>While 4v4 is the main competition and focus, consideration for other accolades including MVPs, individual tournament wins, and more can also be made.</li><li>Where possible, you should take statistics into consideration as well as including things like Kills, Assists, average placement, winning streaks, event wins, and more.</li><li>Other intangible considerations around reputation in the game, leadership, play-making abilities, eye test, and more can also be made.</li></ul>



<h2>SCHEDULE</h2>



The players will be announced on the <a href="https://twitter.com/HCS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HCS Twitter</a> account starting on Monday 9/6 at 10am PT, and for the first week we’ll be revealing three players a day which will then leave us with the Top 10. Along with the announcement, we’ll be celebrating the player’s success and sharing memories from their career. We encourage everyone to join the conversation online and share your favorite memories as well!



In Week 2 starting on Monday 9/13, we’ll be releasing a video each day starting with #10 and ending with #6. Each of these videos will be soley dedicated to the player, and you’ll hear from Halo legends across the ages as they talk about what makes each of these players so great.



In Week 3, starting on Monday 9/20, we’ll again be releasing a video dedicated to each player. On Thursday 9/23, we’ll open up a community poll so you can weigh in on who you think is the Greatest Player of All Time. Finally on the last day, we will reveal both #2 and #1 players on the list, and again each with their dedicated video and time in the spotlight.



Update 9/29: The full list has now been revealed! Congratulations to all players who made the 2021 list



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/top25-final-092bd77d368745edbc0defbd1500e41c.png" alt="HCS Top 25 calendar view of players"/></figure>



<h2>FOLLOW ALONG.</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/hcs-haloinfinite-logos-header-1500x500-4fb886527aa840d38b9be87c19ecd25f.png" alt="HCS logo with Halo Infinite"/></figure>



 Determining the greatest Halo player of all time was no easy task and we took the process and gravity of the list very seriously. We know that each of you will have your own opinion on each of the players on the list and we encourage you all to share your thoughts with us on Twitter using the hashtag #HaloTop25. Do you think a player should have been higher on the list? Maybe there’s someone who didn’t make the cut who you thought for sure should have made it. Join the conversation!



We’ll be revealing the players one by one on the Official Halo Esports Twitter account, and to coincide with the Top 25 list, we’ve also launched the Official Halo Esports YouTube channel. We are very excited that Halo Esports will now have it’s own official home on YouTube. To start, the channel will feature  videos from this campaign, and has some historical footage to peruse as well. All of the video content we’ll create going forward (including full tournament VODs) will also be made available on the channel and accessible for fans to enjoy.



Make sure you follow and subscribe so you’re up to date with all the latest news and video content.



<h3><a href="https://twitter.com/HCS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TWITTER</a></h3>



<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRlMArGqt607LYdhlrrYVA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YOUTUBE</a></h3>



<h2>THE FINAL POINTS</h2>



Without revealing the names, we wanted to reveal the list and associated points so fans can see just how closely contested the list was. Halo pros both retired and current on this list are truly the Greatest Players of All Time.



Update 9/29: Names added in below. 



<ol><li>219 Points – Ogre 2</li><li>216 Points – Lethul</li><li>192 Points – Snakebite</li><li>186 Points – Pistola</li><li>174 Points – Royal 2</li><li>171 Points – Snip3down</li><li>158 Points – Roy</li><li>157 Points – Walshy</li><li>149 Points – Lunchbox</li><li>142 Points – Frosty</li><li>129 Points – Ogre 1</li><li>85 Points – Elamite</li><li>83 Points – aPG</li><li>82 Points – Shotzzy</li><li>78 Points – Heinz</li><li>72 Points – ACE</li><li>68 Points – Tsquared</li><li>64 Points – Strongside</li><li>51 Points – Karma</li><li>41 Points – Legit</li><li>39 Points – Victory X</li><li>39 Points – Mikwen</li><li>35 Points – Fearitself</li><li>33 Points – Saiyan (Ryan Danford)</li><li>28 Points – Ryanoob</li></ol>



<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>



At the core of it all this list is meant to recognize and celebrate the incredible achievements of these players over the course of their careers and Halo’s history. For those that are retired we say thank you on behalf of the entire Halo community for dazzling and inspiring us. For those that are still competing, thank you for the memories so far, and best of luck in Halo Infinite. And for all players that made this list of 2021, congratulations!

Top 25 Greatest Players of All Time

Hey everyone! First, thanks to everyone who participated and slayed out those Bots in the Halo Infinite Tech Preview! It was great to see so much positive feedback about the game from the competitive community, and we’re also appreciative for the constructive feedback you all had too. We can’t wait for you to play more!



Welcome back to another installment in our blog series, Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem. The goal of this blog series is to detail how we are working to develop a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for Halo esports. If you’re interested in our philosophical approach to esports as a fan, player, team, tournament organizer, or sponsor, then this blog series is for you! If you’re hoping to learn specifics about format and roadmap, stay tuned, more info will be released as we get closer to the launch of Halo Infinite.



If you’re new to the series, thanks for joining us! You can catch up with the first six installments here:



<ul><li>January Installment – Overarching goals and approach: <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-january">https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-</a><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-january">january</a></li><li>February Installment – Tournament Operators: <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-february">https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-february</a></li><li>March Installment – Viewership: <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-march">https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-march</a></li><li>April Installment – Sponsors: <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-april">https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-april</a></li><li>June Installment – Teams: <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-june">https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-june</a></li><li>July Installment – Competition Platforms and Input: <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-july">https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/halo-infinite-esports-ecosystem-july</a></li></ul>



Alright Tashi, what are we talking about today?



We’ve got another big one today as we’re finally revealing the partnered Teams that will be joining HCS at launch.



Let’s dig in!



<h2>LAUNCH PARTNERS</h2>



Halo Infinite marks the next era in the franchise, and with it comes the next era for the Halo Championship Series. Behind the scenes, we’ve been hard at work for the last few years building out the ecosystem with Teams being a huge component of that. After getting tons of feedback on the Partnership Program, opening up applications, selecting the Teams, building the in-game content, and signing contracts – we are finally ready to reveal the Teams that will be partnered with us for the launch of HCS for Halo Infinite. We are so proud to have such an incredible lineup of Teams ready to jump into Halo, and we can’t wait to get work.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/all-9-teams-16x9-12e132f832ea4ef0b9c07d8e1836e518.png" alt="Halo Championship Series launch partners and their team logos"/></figure>



We want to thank each of these Teams for believing in Halo and its community. Here’s what gets us so excited about working with each of these Teams!



<h2>CLOUD9</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/c9-banner-ecd683488bd443c08900f983f7e04e53.png" alt="Cloud 9 Logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



Their resume in esports speaks for itself! They are one of the few Teams that have been around for a long time and have managed to stay at the top throughout it all. Cloud9 are long time believers in Halo as they had a team at the very beginning of HCS with Halo 2: Anniversary.



Follow Cloud9:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/cloud9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/cloud9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/cloud9gg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



Roster:



<ul><li>Penguin</li><li>Eco</li><li>Stellur</li><li>Renegade</li></ul>



<h2>EUNITED</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/eunited-banner-0bffc781b7114537a2b13796706a1ca3.jpg" alt="EUNITED Logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



This organization is filled with Halo fans who are passionate about the scene and very knowledgeable as well. Their dedication to fan engagement and content is something we really admire and think they will be a force to reckon with in Halo Infinite.



Follow eUnited:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/eunited" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUGrMmlhV57kpWBKEL8w5CQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/eunitedgg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



Roster:



<ul><li>Rayne</li><li>Ryanoob</li><li>Spartan</li><li>Nick</li></ul>



<h2>FAZE CLAN</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/faze-banner-8d25c71475944b95a5cf72fccf444bae.jpg" alt="FaZe Clan Logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



Over a decade of excellence, culture defying and defining, FaZe Clan simply don’t miss. This team knows how to win, they know how to entertain, and we can’t wait to see what they do in Halo Infinite. Actually, we’re just hoping they can help us find out where Kampy is. Just kidding!



Follow FaZe Clan:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/fazeclan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/faze" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/fazeclan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



<h2>FNATIC</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/fnatic-banner-5a954423369d4b69a689ef5fbdef5e18.jpg" alt="FNATIC Logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



Another stalwart in esports and a very familiar face for Halo veterans, Fnatic once took the MLG Pro Circuit by storm and are back to reconnect with part of their roots with Halo Infinite. Their excellence in the industry is boundless.



Follow Fnatic:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/fnatic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/fnatic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/fnatic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



<h2>G2 ESPORTS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/g2-banner-29c06449f1384a0cb4c8a79ad69322fa.jpg" alt="G2 logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



Founded in 2015, G2 have built a reputation of competitive excellence and pure entertainment that will no doubt have a big impact on the Halo scene as well. G2 have a strong vision for esports and we can’t wait to see how they dazzle us in the arena.



Follow G2:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/G2esports" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/FollowGamers2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/g2esports/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



<h2>NAVI</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/navi-banner-a18d2d68b3c748438b0c75a748d4343f.jpg" alt="NAVI Logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



This legendary organization has been a dominant force in esports across multiple titles over the years and now have the Halo scene in their crosshairs. Despite this being their first foray into Halo, we wouldn’t take them lightly.



Follow NAVI:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/natusvincere" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTM7YoU7hNYlq1_zPjibkQg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/natus_vincere_official/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



<h2>SENTINELS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/sentinels-banner-0bdffbfc5b7a4e0cbc0a20df09a24ba0.jpg" alt="Sentinels logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



Fielding Halo’s current reigning dynasty, Sentinels have been supporting the Halo scene for nearly 2 years now and we were very happy to welcome them into the Partnership Program as they take on their next adventure in Halo Infinite. With their unique brand and knack for talking smack, we think they’ll be turning some heads this holiday.



Follow Sentinels:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/sentinels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNcWiCgpHVctNxLr3FD04PA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sentinels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



Roster:



<ul><li>Snakebite</li><li>Royal2</li><li>Frosty</li><li>Lethul</li></ul>



<h2>SPACESTATION GAMING</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/spacestation-banner-db13ff27bff44ca1b56132ce35d89735.jpg" alt="Spacestation logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



This Team knows how to win and they also know how to have fun at the same time. With a proven track record in esports that continues to grow, SSG are looking to spice up the Halo scene. Like they said in their announcement, they’re the underdogs but I wouldn’t sleep on this team!



Follow Spacestation:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/spacestation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7XJ6Oa8IzD7j5sqJLq4Ghg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/spacestationgaming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



<h2>TEAM ENVY</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/envy-banner-8015dbce6af4466da75256254690ea55.jpg" alt="Envy logo for the Halo Championship Series"/></figure>



Having won multiple Halo championships in Halo 5, Envy is back and have been fielding one of the scene’s top rosters for the last year. The organization has grown significantly since their Halo 5 days and we’re thankful that they’re bringing their prestige and power back for Halo Infinite.



Follow Envy:



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/envy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/TeamEnVyUs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/teamenvy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a></li></ul>



Roster:



<ul><li>Pistola</li><li>Tripppey</li><li>aPG</li><li>Lucid</li></ul>



Halo community – please do me a favor and give these Teams a warm welcome. They are invested in seeing this scene grow, supporting you all, and taking Halo esports to new heights. Show some love by replying to the latest tweets from <a href="https://twitter.com/hcs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@HCS.</a>



And in the spirit of transparency, we also wanted to note that Microsoft is a sponsored partner of Cloud9 which includes some technical support of their teams, but this does not include the Halo Infinite team. These partnerships are completely separate, and it was critical to all parties that we maintained fair play.



We’re sure there are a bunch of questions, so we did our best to preemptively answer those below.



<h2>Q&A</h2>



Question: What do these Teams get for being partnered with HCS?



Answer: These Teams are investing significant funding into the Halo ecosystem and we want to ensure that the Halo ecosystem can give back financially to them. They’re going to be paying players, coach, manager salaries, creating entertaining content for fans to watch, and they’ll even have the opportunity of setting up booths at our events to spend time with the community. None of the investment funding is going to us, it’s all going to the community! Part of why these Teams were selected was because they wanted to be a part of the Halo community for the long haul. Let’s welcome them and their fans with open arms, and support them as much as we can. In return for their investment, the partnership with Teams starts with in-game content where they will receive a significant share of the revenue. Each partnered team will have multiple bundles released within Halo Infinite, which the prior bundle being placed into the vault as the next one releases. Additionally, Teams will be given a wealth of content and opportunities to film content at events so that they can entertain their fans and bring in new ones. We’re also hard at work at more opportunities for partnered Teams including sponsorship support, merchandise collaborations, and more. Our goal is to provide as many opportunities as possible to our partnered Teams.



Question: Will partnered Teams have any competitive advantage over other Teams?



Answer: No. None of these partnered Teams will receive any HCS Points, any advanced placement at events, or auto qualification to any Official HCS events that impact the roadmap that the entire other scene will compete in. This was super important to us. We’re an open ecosystem and we will have plenty of open events where anyone can compete and win. You might find however that these partnered Teams get selected for Invitationals, show matches, and things along those lines where entertainment is the real goal and those won’t have an impact on the main HCS league or competitive standings.



Question: Will there be more Teams added to the Partnership Program after launch? If so, when will that happen?



Answer: The short answer is yes! The long answer is that it’s really important to us that these 9 initial Teams have a great experience, and we are hitting our goals as we go along BEFORE we end up bringing on more Teams. We want to avoid a situation where we scale up too fast, and we are unable to support and manage them properly. We are in this for the long haul and so are our partners. We want to slowly add in more Teams as we go along.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/hcs-haloinfinite-logos-header-1500x500-4fb886527aa840d38b9be87c19ecd25f.png" alt="H C S logo with Halo Infinite"/></figure>



Question: I’m a Team that’s interested in joining the Partnership Program at some point in the future – what can I be doing to set myself up for success?



Answer: Great question! While these are the 9 partnered Teams for launch, it’s important to keep in mind that we are an open ecosystem and we welcome all Teams around the world to jump in and participate if they choose to. In fact, we have already been talking to quite a few Teams that are looking to jump in despite not being in the Partnership Program which we are very thankful for. When we review applications for the Partnership Program, we’re looking for Teams that have a proven track record of supporting rosters in other games or even Halo, and they really sink their teeth into those games to engage with the community and support their players. Additionally, we look at the social media and content strategy. It’s important to us that partnered Teams are pushing the story of the league and scene forward, and are committed to entertaining their fans while drawing in new ones. If a team is also invested in signing Halo content creators, that signals to us that they’re serious about the Halo scene and supporting it. Finally, it’s important to us that Teams are not just in it to make a quick buck off of selling in-game content but are investing appropriately into Halo to support the community, and are looking to do so for years.



Question: Tashi, what about Teams supporting Australia & Zealand, as well as Latin America?



Answer: Over time, it is important to us that we also add Teams from those other regions into the Partnership Program to extend the support there. For launch, we made the decision to stick to North America and Europe for partnered Teams as those regions are more established and developed in Halo (as well as the reasons in the prior answer above), and we feel will provide more potential success and opportunities for Teams to invest significantly. In the first year for Halo Infinite esports in ANZ/LATAM, we believe we need to first establish a strong foundation for players to commit to competing in Halo and really investing their time. The scenes need to grow deeper with more players competing and performing at a high level globally. This is part of why it was so critical for us to commit to having the full year roadmap available for players to see at launch, and why our regional approach has been bolstered which we will share more about later.



Question: We want to support these partnered Teams, what we can do?!



Answer: There are many ways that you can support the partnered Teams now and in the future! When Halo Infinite is released, purchasing their in-game content will really go a long way as they’ll receive a significant portion of the revenue and is a key part of the program. On social media, you can be active by liking, sharing, and responding to their posts. They participate in games other Halo, but let’s make their Halo fans the most hardcore and passionate! Additionally, you can support the players that they field by watching their streams, supporting on social media as well, etc.



<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>



We are truly humbled by all the love that Halo Infinite has been shown so far by the players, fans, and partners. Thank you, a million times. Our next adventure in Halo is just around the corner, and we will have more exciting news to share including tournament/event information, competitive settings, and much more. Let’s keep the positivity rolling!



Feel free to drop me a line on Twitter.



Until next time,



Tashi

Designing The Halo Esports Ecosystem – August

Hey everyone! I know many of you are slaying some Bots in Halo Infinite’s Tech Preview at the moment, hope you’re all having a blast and thank you so much for stress testing our systems as we prepare for launch. Welcome back to another installment in our blog series, Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem. The goal of this blog series is to detail how we are working to develop a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for Halo esports. If you’re interested in our philosophical approach to esports as a fan, player, team, tournament organizer, or sponsor, then this blog series is for you! If you’re hoping to learn specifics about format and roadmap, stay tuned, more info will be released as we get closer to the launch of Halo Infinite.



If you’re new to the series, thanks for joining us! You can catch up with the first four installments here:



<ul><li>January Installment – Overarching goals and approach</li><li>February Installment – Tournament Operators</li><li>March Installment – Viewership</li><li>April Installment – Sponsors</li><li>June Installment – Teams</li></ul>



Alright Tashi, what are we talking about today?



Today’s blog is pretty special. We’re detailing some critical information that will have a really huge impact on the ecosystem from players to Teams, sponsors, operators, and everyone in between because today we’re talking about competition platforms, competitions inputs, online platforms, and more.



Let’s dig in!



<h2>PC VS CONSOLE</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/Module-images/tim-banner-f758b2f657584aa9913352aacdc2ec30.jpg" alt="Esports competitive player playing a match with team"/></figure>



For decades, war has been waged between gaming platforms of every kind as their loyal fans have served as foot soldiers on the virtual battleground that we call the internet. Thankfully, the gaming industry has taken a turn for peace as more and more players are brought together as games are offered on more and more platforms and Halo Infinite is no different. Halo Infinite is the first Halo game to launch simultaneously on PC and two separate generations of Xbox consoles and will feature cross play. For nearly two decades Halo esports was exclusively on console and whatever platform we decided on would have a really massive impact. We understand the gravity of this decision.



We’ve been preaching our philosophy all year long – Halo Infinite esports is an open ecosystem. We want to lower the barrier to entry everywhere so that we can grow the community as much as possible. The more players competing then the more competitive and healthy the scene is. And as we stated in our original ecosystem blog, we believe in cultivating and uniting communities. We want Halo esports to be bigger than it ever has been. We wanted to build a world where all that mattered was that you were a Halo fan and that was it.



With all that said, we’re excited to reveal that Halo Infinite esports will be cross play for all online tournaments. Have a beefy PC rig? Great, you’re ready to compete! Have a last gen console? All good, you’re ready as well! Just got your hands on a sweet new Xbox Series X? Nice, you’re all set!



We had so much to consider in this decision including player experience, tournament experience, as well as our partners in the ecosystem such as Teams and Tournament Operators. What we envisioned was an ecosystem where players had the choice. Where if they had one platform, they weren’t forced to get the other if they wanted to compete. Where Halo Infinite was suddenly a game they had the choice to play when it wasn’t in the past because of the platform they had already decided to invest in.



Keen readers probably noticed I said “online tournaments” above. So, what does this mean for LAN events. Halo Infinite esports LAN events will be tried and true open events where anyone can sign up and compete, for the chance to work your way up from the open bracket into the pro championship bracket. This means that, especially for a new Halo game, we’re anticipating having more teams onsite than any HCS event ever, and maybe any Halo event ever. (We’re coming for your record, Halo 2!) To accommodate this many teams while having a smooth 3-day tournament experience that’s as competitive as possible, we’re needing to go in a direction we’ve not gone in before. In fact, we find ourselves in quite a unique scenario in all of esports when you factor in the platforms and formats, and this is newer territory not only for us but really for the industry as well. If you’re a pro player that starts an event weekend from pool play where you compete on mainstage and featured stations, you’ll be playing on PC. If you’re a player competing in the open bracket, you’ll be playing on the Xbox Series X. If you’re a player that makes it out of the open bracket and into pool play and/or championship bracket, you’ll be transitioning to PC mid-event.



Whoa Tashi, this is a lot of news to take in. Can you go into more detail about why it’ll work this way?



Of course. Alright, let’s breakdown the alternative scenarios that we felt were the most realistic to explore.



<ul><li>Alternative scenario 1: All console</li><li>Alternative scenario 2: All PC.</li></ul>



We decided against alternative scenario 1 because we knew for the absolute pinnacle of Halo competition, with millions of dollars on the line, that PC was the platform that’s become the standard in esports. We also knew that this was what a lot of players were wanting especially after running MCC tournaments on PC.



Alternative scenario 2 was the other scenario we spent the most time working on and was our first idea of what we wanted to go with. After months and months of deliberation and consultation with Esports Engine (who we worked with hand in hand), we decided that at the scale we were looking to run these open events, logistics would not allow us to go all PC. It’s important to keep in mind that these are fully open events with hundreds and hundreds of machines for players to compete on. When we have to factor in managing all of the hardware and parts (some of which may be damaged during shipping from event to event), the increased number of variables that come into play on PC (software and hardware), drivers, networking configurations and much more, we realized that the potential for issues to arise and the event to get massively delayed and behind schedule was far too great to risk.



You might be wondering, “Well Tashi, what about DreamHack Anaheim 2020, that was all PC wasn’t it?”. Yes, it was, and that provided very valuable information for us. Ultimately that was a 64-team open bracket on Halo: Reach and we’re hoping to more than triple that for major Halo Infinite LAN events. With an Xbox Series X, there are significantly fewer variables, and from an operation standpoint we have full confidence that the event will be run smoothly, and it will be a great tournament experience.



Alright Tashi, that all makes sense. How’s it going to work for the open bracket teams who have to transition from Xbox Series X to PC?



Great question and one that’s important to us because we knew it was going to be one of the more unorthodox parts of the experience. It’s worth noting that Halo Infinite will run at 120fps on the Xbox Series X which is twice the framerate as Halo 5. This will be without question the best, most competitive console Halo experience ever.  And from a gameplay perspective, there are no differences. The maps are the same, the modes are the same, the mechanics are the same, etc. To accommodate for players coming from the open bracket, they will be given an allotment of time and exclusive access to warmup PCs before jumping into their next matches to quickly acclimate.



<h2>MOUSE & KEYBOARD VS CONTROLLER</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/Module-images/mkb-banner2-2c0210bf44064f85b3e8829cfc125126.jpg" alt="Esports competitive team gaming"/></figure>



Yet another war has waged on for decades in gaming and that’s the one of Mouse & Keyboard vs Controller. Once again, however, our aim is not to arbitrarily try to settle the score and just pick one over the other. Our aim is to be as inclusive as possible to grow the competitive community around the world. Because of that, we are going to allow players to compete on controller or mouse and keyboard regardless of platform. This means you might see entire teams on controller, entire teams on MKB, or teams with mixed MKB and controller players. We will also allow for MKB players to play on the Xbox Series X at live events if they’re in the open bracket. For those who didn’t compete in Halo because it wasn’t available on PC and was controller only – we welcome you with open arms and wish you the best of luck in the scene.



We’re so excited to see this entirely new dynamic come into play, Halo esports will never be the same again. As always but especially now with so many new elements, we will be watching how the scene develops and how the tournaments unfold to ensure competitive integrity is maintained.



<h2>ACCOUNTS AND GAMERTAGS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/Module-images/suspector-banner-4148df7f56854eddb7ffb7e8e10ae35e.jpg" alt="Esports player in a match"/></figure>



This section is certainly not as glamorous or exciting as the sections above, but this section has critical information for players looking to compete. At prior Halo events, all accounts were provided by HCS and the operator, and so players just needed to sit down and play. This will remain true for the open bracket at HCS events. You will sit down and play on generic accounts that have been provided to you. However, for mainstage and featured station play, we are requiring all players to log in with their personal accounts. I repeat, if you are playing on mainstage or on a featured station, you will be required to log in with your personal account that you compete online at home with.



Got it, can you talk about why?



There are a few reasons why we’re changing this:



<ol><li>All of the player’s settings and configurations will be tied to the account, so it should be a lot faster to players to get situated and ready to compete.</li><li>We want to have event stats attached to a single account for pro players rather than in the past where it was attached to multiple accounts in a season. This will let us tell a richer story about the league on the broadcast and in video content.</li><li>We want players to have all their cosmetics for their Spartans ready to go.</li></ol>



On top of this, each player who competes on PC will have their own SSD (Solid-State Drive) assigned to them with their PC configurations set and ready to go after initial setup. When a player is not competing or warming up at the dedicated warm up stations, their SSD and peripherals (controllers, MKB, etc) will be locked away backstage. This will keep the equipment safe and ensure that it won’t be tampered with during the tournament, thus ensuring greater competitive integrity. This is standard for major esports titles that operate on PC.



<h2>ESPORTS ENGINE ACCOUNT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/Module-images/luciid-banner-7ee96e8bae284709aa192df1124d0484.jpg" alt="Esports players conversing"/></figure>



HCS for Halo Infinite will feature a point system that will be used for seeding (and sometimes qualification) that ties the entire ecosystem together. Players will be able to accrue points in the scene from multiple sources including Official HCS tournaments both online and in-person, but also HCS Grassroots tournaments in the scene. To track of all of this, HCS will be leveraging the Esports Engine platform. Players will need to register an account on the platform to compete in any tournaments that award points. The EE platform will also manage official HCS events that we run with Esports Engine. This means that for Esports Engine-operated events, you’ll buy your team passes, finalize your roster, see brackets live, and much more right on the platform. This will make tournament operation more efficient for Esports Engine, resulting in a stronger player experience.



We will also have an online tournament platform where all official HCS online tournaments will take place. Once the online platform is announced and is live, players will be able to register right away and link accounts in order to prepare for the competition. For clarity, this online tournament platform is separate from the EE platform mentioned above.



<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>



Halo Infinite is a game that is more open and accessible to players than any prior Halo game and HCS is following suit. With players competing on any platform as well as controller or mouse and keyboard, we’re hoping to have a deep competitive scene with fresh blood entering the scene at launch and beyond. On top of that, we’re working to ensure a better onsite event experience than ever before with our partners at Esports Engine.



Thanks to everyone for reading – can’t wait to dig into the reactions and feedback. Feel free to drop a line on <a href="https://twitter.com/tashi343i" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>. Now let’s go shoot some more Bots!



Until next time,



Tashi

Designing The Halo Esports Ecosystem – July

Welcome back to another installment in our blog series, Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem. The goal of this blog series is to detail how we are working to develop a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for Halo esports. If you’re interested in our philosophical approach to esports as a fan, player, team, tournament organizer, or sponsor, then this blog series is for you! If you’re hoping to learn specifics about format and roadmap, stay tuned, more info will be released as we get closer to the launch of Halo Infinite. I will say though that today’s particular blog is a little juicier than ones in the past.



If you’re new to the series, thanks for joining us! You can catch up with the first four installments here:



<ul><li>January Installment – Overarching goals and approach</li><li>February Installment – Tournament Operators</li><li>March Installment – Viewership</li><li>April Installment – Sponsors</li></ul>



Alright Tashi, what are we talking about today?



Today my friends we are talking about Teams. No, not a group of 4 players but rather the team organizations that the players represent.



Let’s dig in!



<h2>WHY ARE TEAMS IMPORTANT?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/banner-01-69df10b8728443aa962c4f4f7d2ed71c.png" alt=""/></figure>



Teams play a super critical role in the success of esports, and that role is increasing all the time. First and foremost, they provide financial stability for the players in the scene. For long term sustainability,  players cannot rely solely on prize money, so it’s important that there are ways for players to receive regular, reliable financial support to pursue competing. Creating content and streaming is also another great way for pro players to earn income.



On top of that, Teams also draw in fans to the scene, which is obviously critical to increase viewership for tournaments, content, and more. These fans also help draw in more fans to the team and game as they share the excitement on social media and in Twitch/YouTube chats.



With these two things in mind, you can see how deeply rooted teams are in the success of an esport, and that’s why we are taking a very intentional approach for Halo Infinite esports.



<h2>OUR APPROACH</h2>



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When HCS first started, Teams would seemingly enter and exit the scene at random and we had no direct relationship with them. The events were just big open tournaments with no advanced stage for pro teams until the finals, and that contributed to the issue. Over time, we started creating team skins in Halo 5, which was a great program and something we wanted to build off of for Halo Infinite, but in a far more holistic way.



Our first step was to gather information and involve pro teams as early as we could. <a href="https://twitter.com/Tashi343i/status/1138541483009630209" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">We proactively sought out information</a> and feedback from those that participated in Halo and those that did not. We asked about how they decided which games they wanted to join, which game ecosystems are working for them and why, why did they decide to enter/exit Halo in the past, and much more. We also learned about where they saw their business heading and how they could potentially see Halo fitting into it. This was a long but extremely valuable process. It helped us create and strengthen relationships with the Teams but also gave us vital information that went directly into the design of the Halo Infinite esports ecosystem.



On top of this, we are also big esports fans ourselves and careful observers. We were seeing how the broader esports industry was evolving, what other games were doing well, what pain points were existing in other ecosystems, etc. This also went into the design of the ecosystem and helped us iterate . As we were working through the design process, the franchising model and format in esports  was starting to become popular, and we of course evaluated that option. For Halo, we decided it was critical that Halo Infinite esports had an open format and ecosystem, and that we were building off of the philosophy that started way back with Halo: Combat Evolved. We wanted to create an ecosystem that was as open as possible to allow for new teams to integrate into the scene at any time, for up-and-coming players to have the opportunity to rise to the top at any moment, and for tournament operators of all sizes to plug into the ecosystem across any region.



At this point, we were ready to start drafting our plans for how Teams would fit into the broader picture. Again, it was important that we took a collaborative approach. Once we had our v1 thoughts together, we reached out to trusted Team partners to get early feedback on our plans. From there we’d create a v2, then v3, and so on until we felt we were ready to kick off the official process for Teams joining Halo.



<h2>HCS TEAM PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM</h2>



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For the first time in Halo esports there will be an official partnership program for Team organizations to apply for and take part in. Our goals are to offer a path to long term sustainability for teams (and thus players and staff), grow viewership, and grow overall fan engagement. At a high level, the Teams in the partnership program are a foundational part of the ecosystem and we want to deepen the relationship together with launch being just the beginning.



Last year we conducted an application process with numerous teams in North America and Europe (more regions to come online later). We looked at why they were interested in Halo, what their plans and approach would be, what level of investment are they looking to commit to, and more. I’m happy to say that after a lengthy application process we have a solidified a list of partnered Teams for the launch of Halo Infinite this holiday.



At this point you might be wondering exactly what it means for a Team to be in the partnership program. Well to start, each partnered Team has designed their own in-game content which will be sold in the game on day 1 of Halo Infinite’s release, with more drops releasing over time. Of course, Teams will receive a significant portion of the revenue from each sale. Additionally, we’re looking to enable teams to create as much content as possible to drive interest in the league. We’ll be providing all access to broadcast VODs and footage captured at the event, as well as providing access for Teams to film their own content, including backstage and on stage while their team is competing. Each partnered Team’s roster and coach will also get their travel covered for every event they’re eligible for, even if they start in the open bracket. Partnered Teams will also have an opportunity to include their own sponsors (as long as they don’t conflict with the HCS’ sponsors) directly into our broadcasts. And really that’s just the tip of the iceberg as we are already expanding on ways to ensure that Teams have the opportunity and incentives to invest in Halo for many years.



If you’re an esports Team reading this and are interested in learning more about the partnership program and how your Team could get involved then first I’d say thank you, and we’d love to connect and share more when the time is right. As mentioned, we’re currently not bringing on any additional partners for launch. However, you can feel free to drop a line on <a href="https://twitter.com/Tashi343i" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>.  And I know we’ve talked about pro players and pro teams almost exclusively today but rest assured, Halo Infinite esports is an open format and ecosystem. These partnered teams will need to earn every HCS Point they get, and we will have ways for amateur players to rise in the ranks and compete against the top pro teams on a regular basis, and live events will be open.



<h2>THE TEAMS</h2>



Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “That all sounds great Tashi but who are the partnered Teams?!”. Well unfortunately that’s not news that we’re able to share just yet. Also, it would be pretty lame if we just listed out all of the teams in a blog like this. Don’t worry, we and the Teams are cooking up some awesome plans to make the announcement. We intend to make a lot of noise when we’re ready later this Summer.



<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>



Enabling the success of our partners is critical to the success of Halo Infinite esports. We stated it back in the first blog when we detailed our mission, and we hope this blog provided a more detailed look at what we’ve been working on.



Thank you once again for everyone who’s been reading along and of course if you’ve got any feedback, let us know on <a href="https://twitter.com/HCS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>!



Until next time,



Tashi

Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem – June

Welcome back! This is the fourth installment in our blog series, Designing the Halo Esports Ecosystem. The goal of this blog series is to detail how we are working to develop a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for Halo esports. If you’re interested in our philosophical approach to esports as a fan, player, team, tournament organizer, or sponsor, then this blog series is for you! If you’re hoping to learn specifics about format and roadmap, stay tuned — more info will be released as we get closer to the launch of Halo Infinite.



If you’re new to the series and want to get caught up, don’t worry, we’ve got your back. You can read the first three installments here:



<ul><li>January Installment – Overarching goals and approach</li><li>February Installment – Tournament Operators</li><li>March Installment – Viewership</li></ul>



So today we’re going to talk about sponsors!



Tashi, are you serious? Are we really talking about sponsors today?



Yes we are! Why? Because sponsors in the ecosystem are critical. They’re a key component that impacts everyone from fans to players to teams and everyone in-between.



Ok, let’s get into it!



<h2>WHY ARE SPONSORS IMPORTANT?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/sponsors-banner-5eff63c843a14de0b1c3d5fbd374fd08.jpg" alt="HCS tournament event"/></figure>



If you’re a team or tournament organizer, or even a developer/publisher like us, you’re investing a significant amount of money when you’re participating in esports. For example, as a team, you’ve got to pay players, coaches, managers, other support staff, and potentially more for things like team houses and facilities. Ultimately, each team needs to evaluate if the value they’re getting from being part of an esport is worth that investment. So as a team (or tournament organizer), how are you able to make money to ensure you can continue to participate in esports? One of the main ways esports organizations generate revenue is through sponsorship, and as the architects of the Halo ecosystem, we are actively trying to make it easier for teams, tournament organizers, and others to deliver value to their sponsors. To be extra clear, the ecosystem does not work without sponsors.



<h2>OUR APPROACH</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/hcs/body/sponsors-banner-2-66dd25d510b4477da96d63a22e9adad7.jpg" alt="Halo helmet with two banners"/></figure>



 For Halo esports, we think about sponsors primarily in four different ways:



<ol><li>How can we secure our own sponsorship for the HCS to help offset costs of operating the league? (Staff, league events, paying tournament operators, etc)</li><li>How can Halo help the people investing in the ecosystem (teams, tournament operators, etc) provide value to their sponsors?</li><li>How can we connect the dots between sponsors and those investing in the ecosystem?</li><li>How can sponsors provide value to fans and players?</li></ol>



So let’s get into it!



<ol><li>Generating revenue for 343 Industries is not the core reason why the HCS exists or why we decided to invest in Halo esports. As mentioned in the first ecosystem blog, we want to provide epic entertainment to Halo fans around the world and we want to keep Halo fans interested in playing as well as watching. At the same time, therefore, we need to operate a responsible and sustainable ecosystem that can last for years and years. In terms of revenue, sponsors are one of the ways that we are helping create a sustainable ecosystem. Sometimes we reach out to sponsors to strike a deal, and sometimes sponsors reach out to us to strike a deal because they’re excited about the league and Halo Infinite.</li><li>We understand that sponsors are super critical for teams and tournament organizers, and even though those sponsors might not be directly sponsoring the HCS league, we still want to help where we can. Let’s take teams for example. Teams provide value to sponsors by fielding a roster in a game that has strong viewership, creating video and other social content, etc., and it all helps build awareness for the team’s sponsors. The way we see it, the more we can help teams provide value to their sponsors, the more teams can continue to invest in Halo. So, for example, partnered teams will have the option to place their own sponsors’ logos in certain graphics during our official Halo Infinite HCS broadcasts. Why is this helpful? Because now a team can go to their sponsors and say, “here’s the extra value that we’re providing to you.” It’s great for sponsors, it’s great for teams, and it’s great for the league, too. This also has an impact on players and fans: as more teams are able to sustain long-term participation in Halo, they in turn can keep salaried players on their rosters and can continue to produce entertainment and value for fans. It’s all interconnected.</li><li>We also want to help connect sponsors with the others in the ecosystem (teams, tournament operators, etc), as well as see where there might already be overlap in terms of sponsorship. For example, if a tournament operator already has a partnership with a sponsor, and we’re also interested in working with that sponsor, then it ends up being a great opportunity for extra collaboration with all three parties working together. This is just a small example of the “1 + 1 = 3” philosophy that is so important.</li><li>Lastly, working with sponsors for us is not about sticking a logo on a graphic and calling it good. It’s important to us that our sponsors are driving real value to fans and players, at our live events as well as online. For example, to deliver a great in-person experience, we want to partner with a monitor manufacturer that makes high quality hardware that players onsite will have a great competitive experience on. For other sponsors, we may want to create customized video content that we air on the broadcast and on social media that will entertain fans. This is a critical component to how we work with sponsors and we think sponsors appreciate that approach as well.</li></ol>



<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>



We hope this blog painted a picture of why sponsors are so critical and how we are approaching working with sponsors. The examples today predominantly touched on teams and tournament organizers, but you can extrapolate the approach and philosophy to pro players and content creators as well.



As always, we are interested to hear what folks think, so feel free to send any comments on <a href="https://twitter.com/Tashi343i" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter </a>as well.



Until next time,



Tashi