For those who don’t know, Gamescon is an annual tradeshow held in Cologne, Germany and is, believe it or not, the world’s largest gaming event in terms of size and number of attendees. While it doesn’t come as packed with earth-shattering announcements as E3, Gamescon is a pretty big soapbox and has its fair share of exciting news. Microsoft held their Xbox conference yesterday and revealed some pretty significant things regarding their upcoming games lineup and new features for the Xbox One. Here are the 10 moments you absolutely need to know about.
10. ‘Halo 5’ Is Making A Big Play In The eSports Market
Halo 5: Guardians is Microsoft’s biggest title in its stellar holiday lineup and as such, they’re making a big marketing push for it. Rather than just being the next numbered entry in the series, Halo 5 is also the key to Microsoft’s push into the increasingly popular eSports market. The company put a major focus on this aspect of Halo 5 at Gamescon, announcing that the first-ever ‘Halo World Championships’ would be held this winter with a $1 million grand prize. “Halo has always been synonymous with online competition and was an originator in console eSports,” Halo 5 executive producer Josh Holmes said during the conference. “With Halo 5: Guardians we are fully embracing that legacy with the biggest investment in Xbox eSports history.” Looks like the next generation of Halo extends much further than simply adding shinier graphics.