14 DAY TRIAL // PAX East was host to the first tournament associated with the HCS Pro League Invitational and the teams at 343 Industries, ESL and Microsoft are preparing for the next event that will lead to the HCS Pro League, the summer qualifier.
The competition will have both an online and a real world segment and will determine another four teams that will be part of the HCS Pro League, designed to gather the best teams currently playing Halo 5: Guardians and then deliver weekly action for the fan community.
The official announcement states, "Sixteen teams will play in the online component of the Summer Qualifier which will narrow the competition down to the top eight teams in the North American region. After these eight teams have been decided, they will be invited to compete at the ESL’s studio in Burbank, California on May 8."
The real world portion of the summer qualifier for the HCS Pro League for Halo 5: Guardians will use double elimination groups, with seeding based on performance at the Halo World Championship.
Gamers will be able to see all the action on the official Halo Twitch channel and once this tournament is done only two spots will be open, with Counter Logic Gaming and Evil Geniuses already qualified.
Halo 5: Guardians is preparing for Memories of Reach
343 Industries has not offered a clear launch day for the new content drop, which is supposed to be out before the end of May, but it has said it plans to introduce new maps, more REQ packs, and other tweaks to the gameplay, including extra options for those who want to tweak their controller setup.
Infection is the new mode that the studio is working on, but it's unclear whether it is part of Memories of Reach or will be launched separately.
Recently a closed beta took place for the Warzone Firefight mode in Halo 5: Guardians, which is set to arrive at some point during the summer.
Gamers will be able to team up and then work together, using their full complement of REQs to try and deal with a range of powerful AI controlled enemies, including a new Mythical level of bosses.
Halo 5: Guardians is set to get free content from the development team for the first year of its life, and 343 Industries says that it has plans to continue to support the title and the community once that deadline passes.