Halo Infinite esports taps ESL for HCS events in NA and Australia
ESL/YouTube: Halo343 Industries have entered a deal with ESL Gaming for the esports circuit surrounding their new release, Halo Infinite.
ESL Gaming divisions DreamHack and ESL Australia have been selected to be two of the tournament organizers responsible for hosting competitions for the Halo Championship Series in 2021 and 2022.
Split into four regions, the HCS circuit has tapped DreamHack to host events in Europe and North America and ESL Australia for, unsurprisingly, Australia and New Zealand.
Halo: Infinite’s beta was released on November 15 with team-branded skins being available for purchase from launch; partnered teams like FaZe Clan, NAVI, Fnatic, and Cloud9 all have their own in-game items.
ESLDreamHack will produce Regionals and Supers events in Europe and a North American competition at DreamHack Anaheim on February 11-13, 2022. ESL Australia will handle the operations for Regionals and Supers in their allotted region, too.
A new in-game cosmetic bundle is being released today with a “significant” portion of the revenue generated from purchases being shared with each region’s chosen tournament organizer.
A major name in the history of Halo esports was announced the same day as the beta launched, with OpTic Gaming entering the title. Following their recent merger with Envy, OpTic will eventually replace their new sister team as one of the partnered team brands and have their own in-game skin.
For those asking – you can support @OpTic / @Envy by grabbing the Envy bundle in the store. OpTic bundle on the way (and looking 🔥🔥 too), and these Envy skins will be super rare as the team transitions to OpTic. #HaloInfinite
— Tashi (@Tashi343i) November 15, 2021
“ESL Gaming deeply believes in the Halo community and we will, together with 343 Industries, invest in funding the holistic support of these regions so the local scene can grow and flourish over time,” said ESL’s senior vice president of game management Mike Van Driel.
“This is a tremendous partnership and we are super excited to bring this experience to these communities, competitors and fans.”
Halo Infinite Season 1 is officially underway and, with ESL on board, dedicated players will be hoping for a revival of sorts for the decades-old franchise.