Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is among five cities involved in the first Xfinity City Series.
In a bid to extend its presence in competitive gaming, Xfinity has today unveiled its first esports league, through which it aims to crown the “best gamers” in five northeast U.S. cities.
The subsidiary of Comcast, which has been the biggest provider of gigabit internet since 2018, is encouraging gamers from Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., to sign up to the Xfinity City Series, which pits players against one another across three monthly tournaments in Fortnite (January), Rocket League (February), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (March).
The Xfinity City Series is being hosted through a partnership with Mission Control, which touts itself as a safe, friendly platform for organizations to host recreational esports.
It represents a major step forward for Comcast, which entered the esports fray back in 2015, striking partnerships with Twitch, G4, Philadelphia Fusion, Overwatch League, and training network Nerd Street Gamers. Through Team Xfinity, it has also engineered streaming and social collaborations with the likes of Bugha, BasicallyIDoWrk, and JoshOG.
Starting today (January 4), each month-long event in the Xfinity City Series will see gamers compete in four regular-season games per title; finalists will then be able to duke it out in a series of playoffs.
Alongside the title of “City’s Best Gamer,” Xfinity is offering $50,000 in total prize giveaways during Q1. Each month, overall event winners in Fortnite and Rocket League will win a PlayStation 5, while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate champions will take home an OLED Nintendo Switch; all victors will also get a custom controller with their console.
The Xfinity City Series runs from January to March 2022.
While the prizes are, on the face of things, relatively insignificant in comparison to even lower-level one-off esports events, there’s every chance that casual competitive gamers could make a name for themselves and go on to catch the eye of the nation’s professional esports squads.
It’s an intriguingly cautious approach from Xfinity; its decision to choose a local league structure over a single blockbuster event certainly appears to be testing the water, initially hoping to build a community of everyday gamers through weekly and monthly events.
A successful first crack of the whip may see Xfinity scaling up its league in the coming months, not just in additional northeast markets such as New York–where a five boroughs tournament could turn heads–but all the way across to the west coast. While plans aren’t in place for a city versus city final for the “best city in gaming,” such an approach could really ramp up that community aspect, should this first Xfinity City Series prove popular.
“Recreational gaming should be about community,” said Austin Smith, CEO of Mission Control. “Similar to a summer softball or intramural volleyball league, we’re committed to helping brands create communities where gamers could connect in an engaging way while competing in their favorite games alongside friends.”
If you want to sign up to the Xfinity City Series, you can do so by downloading and logging onto the Mission Control app, where players can register for community activities, check playing schedules, find instructions for matches, and talk with other competitors in their league.
