The venerable online shooter Tribes made a surprise comeback in late 2023 as Tribes 3: Rivals, and with a launch set to happen later this year developer Prophecy Games has announced the first Rival Rumble tournament, an open-to-all competition that’s set to get underway on January 27.
The tournament could be a big one: Entry is free, there’s no cap on the number of signups, everyone who joins will play, and while there will be separate competitions for North America and the European Union, anyone can jump in, even if they don’t live in those regions.
Signups will be open until January 25, after which team captains will be “determined based on interest,” according to Prophecy. Captains will then draft their teams—the exact drafting process is still being nailed down but probably won’t be too different from your average fantasy football league, except that captains presumably won’t know anything about who they’re signing up.
That promises to make things interesting, and even balanced in a way: It’s a bit like the proverbial monkeys and typewriters, except instead of having infinite time to recreate the works of Shakespeare, you get one day and then hit the stage with whatever lands on the page.
Good or bad, the world will have the opportunity to bear witness. The North American tournament will be broadcast on Twitch on January 27, while the EU will follow on January 28, and there is a small prize pool of $4,500 per division up for grabs. That’s not an amount that’s liable to attract major pros, but it’s still a nice incentive to not dick around too much, especially given that this is essentially a playtest.
Speaking of which, if you’d like to give Tribes 3 a shot but don’t want to commit to a tournament schedule, that’s an option too: Regular playtesting will also be available during the tournament, so you can just hop in and have at it. If that’s more your speed, you can request access to playtesting on the Tribes 3 Steam page.
Prophecy Games also teased an “exciting announcement” that will drop at some point during the tournament weekend—I have no idea what it is but, putting on my videogame sleuth hat, I would guess that it might just be a release date. Tribes 3 is currently slated to launch in the first quarter of 2024, and since we’re now in the first quarter of 2024 I have to think that the studio probably has a solid date nailed down.
Unlike its predecessor Tribes: Ascend, Tribes 3 will not be free to play: Prophecy said when the game was revealed in December that it will cost $20 with all “gameplay items” unlocked. Optional cosmetics, emotes, and voice packs will be available for separate purchase and, in some cases, unlockable via gameplay.
To sign up for the Rivals Rumble tournament, or if you’re interested in serving as a caster on Twitch, head over to rivalsrumble.com and push the button. You can also keep up with everything that’s happening via the Tribes 3: Rivals Discord.