Halo 5: Guardians continues the story of the Master Chief, and introduces a brand new central character to the Halo universe – Spartan Locke.  Peace is shattered when colony worlds are unexpectedly attacked.  And when humanity’s greatest hero goes missing, Spartan Locke is tasked with hunting the Master Chief and solving a mystery that threatens the entire galaxy.

Experience the most dramatic Halo story to date in a four-player cooperative epic that spans three worlds. Challenge friends and rivals in new multiplayer modes: Warzone, massive 24-player battles, and Arena, pure 4-versus-4 competitive combat.

The Halo World Championship esports competition is centered on the ultra-competitive Arena multiplayer mode of Halo 5: Guardians.  343 Industries & Xbox has unveiled new details, including when and where the tournament will take place, an update on the crowd-fund assisted prize-pool, and how you and your friends can register to compete against the very best around the world.

HaloWC Prize Pool at $1.7 Million and Growing!

Xbox and 343 Industries originally announced a starting prize pool of $1 million for the Halo World Championship, with the potential to grow through crowd-funding via the all-new Requisition System (REQ System) of Halo 5: Guardians. Since launch, the prize pool has grown tremendously because of the Halo community, bringing the prize pool to $1.7 million and is growing daily!

Tournament Format

Partnering with MLG, ESL and Gfinity, the Halo World Championship consists of online and in-person live events that will take place in U.S. and Canada, Europe along with the Middle East and Africa, Greater Asia, Latin America, and Australia and New Zealand. Key dates include:

• December 6, 2015 – Online Ladders Begin
• December 19, 2015 to January 31, 2016 – Online Qualifiers and Regional In-Person Live Events
• January 23, 2016 to February 21, 2016 – Regional Finals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia/Australia/New Zealand
• March 1, 2016 to March 20, 2016 – Halo World Championship Prelims and Finals

NOTE: For more information regarding the online ladders, qualifiers and regional in-person live events, please visit: www.Halo.gg.

Registration

Anyone who wants to learn more or register in the Halo World Championship should head over to the new Halo esports portal, Halo.gg. For esports fans, we’ll be livestreaming everything from ladders, qualifiers, regionals and finals – be sure to tune-in to the Halo and Xbox Twitch channels! The stakes have never been higher in the world of Halo esports – maybe it’s time to start practicing?