The Finals has announced its first official esports tournament for 2025.
Set to take place in the fourth quarter of the year, the inaugural Major will be the first in-person LAN event for the first-person shooter developed by Embark Studios.
In addition to announcing the tournament, Embark Studios has revealed several esports-focused changes to the game, arriving with its Season 6 update in March.
Changes include an ‘enhanced private match experience’ designed to give players and tournament organisers more control over in-game settings and an improved spectator mode designed to enhance the viewing experience.
The inaugural official tournament will feature a $100,000 (~£78,440) prize pool and is open to all players from across the world.
“Esports has always been a natural fit for The Finals,” revealed an official blog post. “We’re in the process of ensuring the game is ready to support high-level competition.”
The blog also reveals that Embark Studios is still in the process of finalising the tournament format and the process of qualification. These details will be shared at a later date.
Will The Finals Esports Save the Game?
Despite recording an impressive player count when The Finals launched in December 2023, the number of players has continued a steady decline.
According to Steam Charts, the average player count of the last 30 days is 11,576. Compared to its launch figures of 120,211, there’s been a 90% decrease.
There’s a possibility of the game’s first esports event sparking a resurgence in the number of players loading into matches thanks to the open qualification. That combined with a large prize pool opens the door for teams and organisations to make a mark on an esport with untapped potential.
With several esports organisations expanding into other titles, such as Marvel Rivals, the inaugural Major for The Finals has the potential to gain interest with stakeholders looking to field rosters in another first-person shooter.
