Indie shooter Natural Selection 2 will get a world championship. The FPS/RTS hybrid's community-led project has raised the full $30,000 it said it needs to bring 24 players to Cologne, Germany and stage an eSports event to determine a winning team. An ambitious goal, to be sure, but the money is now there to make it happen, according to the fan effort's official crowdfunding site.
As we saw in our review , there's a beautiful tension on display in NS2's asymmetrical showdown between space marines and aliens. The battle for resources—alongside the team tactics necessary to protect your commander and come out on top—has all the makings of a great competitive atmosphere. With developer Unknown Worlds picking up the tab for the studio and Twitch TV promotion, all the proposed world championship event needed was enough cash to get the final four teams, and a few game casters to call the action, to Cologne.
Some blue-chip sponsors like Nvidia and Intel got the project part of the way , but it looks like NS2 fans did the rest. The tournament will accept all entrants, with initial round-robin stages taking place before the end of the year, according to its official description. The finals in Germany are set to kick off in March as a live broadcast event. Any extra funds or additional contributions will go toward the tournament's prize pool, according to the organizers.
