Event organiser DreamHack has revealed its plans to include a Halo: Reach tournament at its Anaheim festival in 2020.
In partnership with the Halo Championship Series (HCS), DreamHack will host the open-bracket DreamHack Halo Series with $50,000 (£38,635) in prize winnings allotted for its top finishers.
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The DreamHack Halo Series will be one of several competitive events held during DreamHack Anaheim over February 21st-23rd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
The event will serve as the first Microsoft-sanctioned tournament of the new year. Additionally, Halo’s competitive vista will be making an aberration from its Xbox exclusivity for the first time in the history of the franchise; the competition will be played on computers and accommodate the use of both controllers and keyboard & mouse.
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Halo: Master Chief Collection’s PC arrival on Steam sparked early debates over the coexisting accessibility options and its place in competitive tournaments with large prize pools. With the DreamHack Halo Series being our first glimpse into the prospect of competitive Halo on PC, there will likely be some fine-tuning to follow in regards to aim assistance and integrity. At the time of writing, competitive settings for the tournament have not yet been revealed.
Although not officially confirmed, the DreamHack event is likely made possible by the HCS Grassroots initiative – a Microsoft-backed program to support tournament organisers and content creators of Halo esports. The last professional Halo: Reach event was hosted by North American tournament operator Arena Gaming League in 2012.
Esports Insider says: While Halo has deviated far from the esports stardom it experienced in the previous decade, anticipation of the franchise making its way to PC full-time is an exciting vision. Being Xbox exclusive for over 19 years, this new initiative will likely will take some time and thought to be ironed out entirely.