For competitive gamers that don't quite meet the criteria to compete in professional tournaments all around the world, Microsoft is introducing Arena.
Announced at the Microsoft Windows October event, Arena is a new feature on Xbox One and Windows PCs that allow gamers to create and play in custom tournaments, marking the company's entry into the world of esports. Xbox One is the first major console to allow players to create their own tournaments.
For competitive multiplayer games like Forza, Gears of War and Killer Instinct, players with Xbox Live can create shareable, custom tournaments set for specific times and dates in either ladder, bracket or Swiss league (also known as group play) setups.
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Some existing games allow players to create tournaments, but Arena is the first custom tournament creator that spans multiple competitive games (and multiple platforms).
While Microsoft took the custom, amateur approach to esports on its platform, Sony took the professional approach to esports.
Earlier in October, Sony announced a partnership with tournament organizer ESL to bring competitive gaming tournaments to the PlayStation 4 dashboard for the first time. PS4 players can opt into tournaments hosted by ESL, but cannot create their own custom competitions.
Nintendo has also teased some upcoming involvement with esports in its Nintendo Switch reveal trailer, but it has not announced any specific details regarding competitive gaming or how the company might be involved with the scene.
Arena will be coming to Microsoft platforms in 2017.
