Major changes are coming to Heroes of the Storm esports next year as we take steps to improve the scene for fans and players alike. We’re not quite ready to reveal our plans for 2017 and beyond in their entirety at this time, but we wanted to share some early info so that any of you with plans to compete have some sense of what you should prepare and practice for.

Most significantly, in North America, Europe, China, and Korea we’ll be shifting to a uniform online league format. As a result, the players on the top eight teams in each region will be contracted and guaranteed both compensation and regular competition, and you can look forward to more consistency not only in your favorite rosters, but also in the scheduling, casting, and quality of broadcasts all-year round.

As part of the new Heroes Global Championship program, you can also look forward to more international events matching rival teams from different regions against one another. On their journey to the HGC finals, teams playing at the highest level will have opportunities to compete at three international events including a global tournament. Competitors from Taiwan, South East Asia, Latin America, and Australia/New Zealand can look forward to local competitions that feed into these international events as well.

Furthermore, we’ll be introducing a promotion and relegation system so that amateur teams competing in the Blizzard-sponsored Open Division know exactly what’s required to make it into the HGC league. Twice a year, after proving themselves in a series of weekly open tournaments with prize pools, the two best teams from the Open Division will get to pit their skills against those of struggling pro teams, whose spots in the top tier of the HGC are on the line.

Qualifiers for HGC leagues will kick off in November. We’ll have more exciting HGC updates for you in the coming months.