A version of PlayStation Tournaments is planned to launch for PS5 later this year.
Speaking at hardware expo CES 2022 earlier today, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan unveiled PSVR 2 and exclusive game Horizon Call of the Mountain. During his presentation, Ryan discussed new features that made their way to the PS5 during its first year, “such as 3D audio on TV speakers and SharePlay between PS5 and PS4.”
Ryan then confirmed that in 2022, “we’re also planning to introduce a new Tournaments feature on PS5.” Originally announced in 2016 for PS4, PlayStation Tournaments were a collaboration with esports organiser ESL, allowing players to enter into a competition format for certain games, with the chance to win PlayStation prizes.
The feature has expanded over time to include a wide variety of games and competition formats, and while Ryan didn’t offer any more information, it seems that some variation on this system will be making its way back to the PS5 during 2022.
Back in July, Sony filed a patent (opens in new tab) for “Online Tournament Integration” on PS5, which would allow the PlayStation Network to generate tournament brackets rather than requiring competitive functionality within the game itself. That could mean that more games are able to take advantage of Tournaments, particularly competitive indie games that don’t have such robust multiplayer functionality.
Tournaments are planned for this year, so hopefully it won’t be too long until they make their way to the PS5. For now, however, you’ll still be able to take part in the existing PS4 Tournaments via Open Series, which launched in May 2022.
Get some early practice in with these upcoming PS5 games.