Piranha Games has announced that sign-ups for the $100,000 MechWarrrior Online World Championship are now being taken. Regional qualifiers are set to begin in May, followed by regional finals in the fall, and then the Big Show, which will take place on December 3 in Vancouver, at the first-ever “Mech Con.”
Tournament matches will take place within a special “Tournament Build” of the game, which will be a clone of, but separate from, the standard MWO client based on the coming May 17 patch. Existing inventory, mechs, and loadouts will not transfer over; instead, tournament players will be given “large amounts” of in-game currency with which to purchase and customize the mechs they'll use in the tourney. All Standard, Hero, and Champion mechs will be available for use, including all Kodiak variants, with loadout restrictions and guidelines provided prior to the start of the tournament.
Maps, modes, and other details have yet to be announced, but battles will be fought in 8-vs-8 matches of 15 minutes, restricted to first-person view only. Interestingly, Piranha recommended that tournament players not make use of specialized third-party hardware during their matches. “All World Final Matches in Vancouver will be played with identical machines and identical hardware,” it said. “If you rely on a specific mouse or accessory for your Tournament Matches, you will not have the luxury of relying on these items in the World Finals.”
The prize pool “starting point” is $100,000, but will be increased from that mark through purchases of Tournament Supporter Packs, 50 percent of which will be added to the total prize pool. The winning team will take home 60 percent of the total prize pool—minimum $60,000—while the second-place finisher will get 30 percent, and third will get ten percent. Prizes for regional finalists will include in-game currency and content like Mechs, Mech Bays, and Mech Packs.
Sign-up links for the MechWarior Online World Championship, as well as full rules and other relevant details, may be had at mwomercs.com.
