The World Cyber Games, also known as the Esports Olympics, returned to the international scene this week and for the first time in its history the event features a VR Tournament. Players from around the globe are competing for cash prizes and medals in Final Assault, an action strategy game from Phaser Lock Interactive that was designed from the ground up for virtual reality.

When it began in 2000, the World Cyber Games became one of the earliest esports events with the WCG Challenge in Yongin, South Korea. Today the World Cyber Games is still one of the world’s largest esports events. There has been a hiatus for several years, but 2019 marks the return of WCG, with the sponsorship of electronics giant Samsung. Other sponsors include SmileGate, the company behind Crossfire, an insanely popular FPS game similar to Counter-Strike. If you haven’t heard of Crossfire, it’s probable that you don’t live in Asia, where many of its 8 million concurrent users originate.

The World Cyber Games VR Tournament is featured in 2019 as part of the New Horizons category, an initiative to highlight future sports platforms. In addition to virtual reality, the category also includes AI Masters, a Robot Fighting Championship (the Ganker Arena), and the Scratch Creative Challenge for students. At the World Cyber Games venue, visitors can learn about these emerging gaming options, try  demos, and visit sponsor booths.

Patterned after the Olympics, players were invited to participate in preliminary events at regional or national levels and the winners then advanced to the stage here in the Quijang Province in Xi’an, China for the main World Cyber Games events.

About the Game

Phaser Lock Interactive’s Final Assault provides a great representation of the potential for VR esports and it was hand-picked to be part of the New Horizons category at WCG 2019. Since the game is fun both to play and spectate, there have been consistent crowds watching the VR Tournament on stage and participating in demos at the booth.

Final Assault is a World War II themed 1v1 action strategy game that includes era-specific vehicles like tanks, jeeps, and airplanes. Players command their troops as they tower over an immersive battlefield in the fast-paced game.

Eight players from four regions (America, Europe, APEC, China) qualified to compete in the Final Assault championship in Xi’an. The WCG VR Tournament format includes a variety of pre-selected maps and a double elimination bracket.

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