After months of silence, Frontier Developments has confirmed the unfortunate cancellation of an Elite: Dangerous tournament that was expected to pay out roughly $15,000 in cash prizes before the end of the year. But the studio hasn’t been nearly as forthcoming, regarding the details that forced Frontier’s sudden (and unceremonious) abandonment of Elite: Dangerous’ first major cash event, as the game’s community would prefer.
Last November, Frontier announced plans to spend $100,000, at least $15,000 of which would be dedicated to prize money, hosting the first Elite: Dangerous competitive event. The studio clearly had big plans for the tournament, which would be open to Mac, PC and Xbox One players, and even wanted the competition’s finale to unfold in front of a live audience. Frontier encouraged players to begin preparing for the CQC Tournament, by gathering the necessary ship upgrades and honing their combat skills. The studio even promised to host community events that would build awareness, and community excitement, for the tournament before the action began. But it seems all the community’s preparation has been for naught.
Thanks to unexpected delays, during development of Elite: Dangerous Update 2.1, Frontier says it’s been forced to scrap its original plans for the CQC Tournament. The studio stopped short of offering specifics, saying only that the tournament hinged on features Frontier expected to be ready for the public much earlier in the year. As you’d expect, Elite players have reacted in a variety of ways, ranging from disappointment and empathy to rage and legal threats from The Reaper Name To End All Reaper Names. But Frontier community manager Zac Antonaci says interested Elite players can still participate in an official PvP tournament this year.
“For those of you who were excited for a CQC tournament this year, I’m delighted to say that we won’t be leaving you disappointed. We’re very glad to be able to confirm that we will be launching our first ever in game PVP tournament, The Icarus Cup,” Antonaci wrote . “Players will need to assemble themselves into squads of 8 (4 Commanders per match and 4 reserves) so start forming your squads now, ready for when registration opens.”
The new event will technically be split into two tournaments, one for PC/Mac players and one for the Xbox One community, but the rules for each shouldn’t differ much (if at all). Antonaci says the winners will receive some exclusive rewards, including an in-game trophy to display in the cockpit of their favorite ship. Unfortunately, there isn’t much more information to share about the newly announced PvP event at this time.
We’ve reached out to Frontier, hoping to get a bit more information on the feature(s) that forced the studio to cancel its original tournament plans, and will update this post if/when we hear anything back from the studio.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Elite: Dangerous news throughout 2016 and as long as Frontier supports Elite: Dangerous in the years to come.
