With the recent announcement that Activision Blizzard is forming a new eSports league headed by an Ex-ESPN CEO, and the recent release of Halo 5: Guardians (with deep eSports features), it shouldn’t be a surprise that more companies want in on the ever growing phenomenon. Now, with a new PlayStation Plus League website, it appears Sony wants its turn, introducing a new competition-based tournament.
Although Sony didn’t reveal any specific details about the tournament during its Paris Games Week presentation this morning during , the website reveals that the league will involve a number of popular PlayStation 4 games that include Ultra Street Fighter IV, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Rocket League, DriveClub and others. The tournament is advertising a cash prize of 20,000 euros, and is set to kick off later this week, with more to be held “throughout the year.”
PlayStation Plus members will be able to participate in the tournament across Gold, Silver, and Bronze Divisions. Each Division has specific eSports-based challenges, with Gold featuring the top 32 players with a monthly prize pool of 150 pounds, with the bottom 11 being moved to the Silver Division.
The Silver division monthly includes a monthly prize of 50 euros, with the top 11 players moved up to the Gold. All those that don’t make it to Silver are lumped into Bronze, where there don’t appear to be any prizes of note.
The tournament is set to take part across several seasons of play, similar to what TBS is doing with its primetime Counter-Strike themed eSports show, which launches sometime next year.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America hasn’t revealed details on this competition coming to the United States just yet, but with all the popularity that surrounds eSports right now, it’s likely to come sooner rather than later. December would be the opportune time, when the company hosts its annual PlayStation Experience event in San Francisco.
In the meantime, Sony’s press conference today built up plenty of buzz with new footage of upcoming 2016 releases such as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Horizon: Zero Dawn. Sony also announced development of a new Gran Turismo game for PlayStation 4 called GT Sport. It’s likely that these games could play a part in the tournament down the road, especially with both Uncharted and Gran Turismo featuring high action multiplayer support.
