MechWarrior Online dev jumps into eSports with $100k tourney

As the business of eSports matures, developer Piranha Games is throwing its hat into the ring by launching a world championship tournament for its free-to-play MechWarrior Online with a $100k prize pool.

It's another brick in the foundation of an industry where professional game players can earn money and recognition for high-level competitive play, one that's having a bit of a renaissance thanks to high-stakes tournaments like Riot's League of Legends world championships and Valve's Dota 2 International -- which surpassed $18 million last year.

In fact, Piranha is taking a page from Valve's tournament playbook by boosting this year's MechWarrior Online World Championships $100,000 prize pot with 50 percent of the proceeds from sales of $10 "Tournament Supporter Packs", which will be listed on the game's online storefront later this month.

Those packs will presumably be sold through the regional qualifiers, which will see entrants from around the world competing to determine who will take part in the MechWarrior Online World Championships at Piranha's Mech-Con 2016 event in Vancouver this December.