What’s new for the esports scene from the Gamescom 2019 ?

Last week was held the Gamescom, and as per our habits, we will go over the announcements that will have an impact on the esports landscape in the foreseeable future.
Numerous games have been showcased and announced, but we will focus on the competitive ones:

World of Tanks: Steel Hunter

Availability dates: 26 August – 16 September 2019

This temporary mode will see 20 tankers fight off on a new map, with the last survivor crowned the winner. A reduced selection of playable tanks, new rules, experience to improve the tank during the game… Wargaming worked hard after they tested its founding principles during events last year.
Battle Royale is not dead!

NBA 2K20

Release date: 06 September 2019

The newest edition of the famous basketball game will see the addition of several new features, with a new movement engine to allow for dunk feints, takeovers and better handling of the ball.
No doubt the fans will soon take possession of the title and create leagues and tournaments.

Gears 5

Release date: 10 September 2019

One of the blockbusters to come by the end of the year, Gears 5 is to be a cross-platform third-person shooter that walks in the steps of its predecessors. There is bound to be a competitive scene, that will build upon what was done with previous titles, and further. Plus, the PC version means more players will be able to play and compete!

CoD: Modern Warfare

Release date: 25 October 2019

An open Alpha session is available this week-end on PS4, to try the 2v2 mode out on 4 different maps. Other news that came in this week is that the game will have dedicated servers for all platforms, and for the first time in the history of the game, cross-play features. No doubt Activision will make it the title of the upcoming competitive season!

Need for Speed Heat

Release date: 08 November 2019

The legendary racing game receives a new opus this winter, with a twist, to mix the two pillars of the previous games: by day, you run in official urban races, and by night, you go for underground races where you will often have to go against cops to increase your ‘street cred’. The games have always been on the arcade side, but there are tournaments for it coming, that is for sure!

DCL – The Game

Release date: TBA (est. Winter 2019/2020)

“DCL” stands for Drone Champions League, the drone racing world championship. This new game developed by THQ Nordic is about steering a flying drone at high speeds through an obstacle course. Quick turns, sudden accelerations, loopings and barrel rolls are included, so buckle up and ready your VR headsets!

Iron Harvest

Release date: 01 September 2020

This one is for all of you RTS fans. Iron Harvest revisits World War I with a different outcome, and a war that carries on during the 20’s, with mechs, tanks and technology that we can only qualify as “diesel-punk”.
The game come from a Kickstarter campaign, and has received a lot of attention and love from strategy fans all around the world. We can’t wait to see the community get its hands on the game, and start organizing large scale competitions!

Open Tournaments: End of summer edition

Summer is slowly getting to an end, but esports and competitions are still going as strong as ever. So why not enjoy the free time before September and get yourself in a nice tournament or two?
Here’s a selection of Open Community tournaments for you:

You are an organizer, and would like us to showcase one of your upcoming tournaments? Contact us, and come advertise it on our Discord Server!

After the MOBA and the Battle Royale, make way for the Auto Battler fad!

A new game genre has taken over the charts recently, the Auto Battlers, with Auto Chess paving the way for Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics, created by Valve and Riot Games respectively.

The premises of the genre are quite simple, with a few players entering a game from which only one will emerge victorious after the others have been eliminated. To achieve victory, you will have to purchase characters (heroes, legends or champions, depending on the title), and equip items on them. Buy several copies of a single character, and see it evolve to a higher level. Combine characters with common race or class, and build a balanced team with bonuses and buffs to defeat your enemies.

At its core, it’s a new kind of death-match game, with around 10 players starting a game, and being eliminated one after the other, when their health reach zero.
And we have the perfect stages for you to organize competitions on such games on Toornament: the Free-for-All structures!
We have also devised a complete guide for you to build your first Auto Battler tournament, how to define your specific rules and match formats.

Open Tournaments: Summertime competitiveness

Now that summer is fully installed, you have to make sure to keep hydrated and seek the shade. And while you’re inside, waiting for the temperature to lower a bit and enjoy outside activities, why not participate in a competition or two?
Here’s a selection of Open Community tournaments for you:

You are an organizer, and would like us to showcase one of your upcoming tournaments? Contact us, and come advertise it on our Discord Server!

Use Case: Gladiabots and Toornament integration

Thanks to its complete API, and even more so the OpenAPI Specification, Toornament is ready for in-game integration.
That’s an opportunity GFX47, developer of the game Gladiabots (an arena game where you assemble a robot squad and construct their IA to outsmart your opponents), understood and seized to let his community organize and take part in tournaments directly in the game.

Gladiabots gameplay

If you play Gladiabots, you will be able to find a “Tournaments” item in its main menu, that will bring you to a list of tournaments, all organized on Toornament. Register to one, and your matches will automatically be pulled from our website thanks to the API and appear in-game. In the same fashion, match results are then pushed to Toornament and new matches pulled again for the tournament to move forward with no admin interventions.

On top of the official tournaments organized by the game developer, any community member can create his own tournament, and have it appear in game for all interested players to participate in.


Having a solution like Toornament has allowed me to offer a competitive option for the players that wanted to take part in tournaments, without having to develop the whole feature myself. It has been a great time saver, and having the community be able to create their own tournaments ensure the game stays lively and active.
GFX47, Gladiabots creator

If you are a game developer yourself, and would like to know more about what Toornament can bring to your player experience, send us an email to [email protected]!