Sony launches PlayStation Tournaments on PS5 to hype competitive play

PlayStation Tournaments, a new feature that's being billed as a next-generation "on-console competitive experience," has officially launched on PlayStation 5.

Sony had spent the past three months beta testing the new feature, which it says will streamline competitive play thanks to shorter tournament times, seamless on-console sign-up, easily discoverable tournaments, an all-new UI, and real-time match updates.

Cutting through the PR guff, that means game-specific tournaments will now be baked into the PS5 home screen, and will also be made accessible via the control centre.

"Scroll to the relevant game on your PS5 home screen and press the down directional button to see a list of upcoming tournaments. Alternatively, view available tournaments by launching the Control Center with a tap of the PS button while playing a supported game," explains a post on the PlayStation Blog.

Despite what the name suggests, PlayStation Tournaments is less focused on hardcore esports, and more intent on offering PS5 owners a quick and approachable way to dive into competitive play in supported games to climb leaderboards, complete challenges, and win prizes.

"The brand-new tournament UI utilizes the activity card framework to let you easily view tournament information. Notifications will automatically carry you through the experience, and you’ll be alerted when your next match is starting. The tournament can be launched from the notification, giving you time to train up in-game, or even play other titles between matches," continues the post.

"Prizes can range from cash, in-game currency, PlayStation consoles or accessories, experiences, and even special collectibles received just for taking part."

Competing players will also be able to view automatic and real-time results after registering for a tournament, while the status of the full tournament bracket (as shown below) will also be viewable via the tournament card at any time.

The first PlayStation Tournaments will span titles including Guilty Gear Strive, FIFA 23, and NBA 2K23.