Professional eSports meets augmented reality in Hado’s ambitious new league.
Tokyo-based augmented sports provider, HADO, is officially taking it’s ongoing location-based AR dodgeball experience to the next level with a professional AR eSports league.
Consisting of two teams of three, each HADO AR Dodgeball match tasks players with eliminating the opposing team by draining them of their “lives” using digital “bullets.” Players are offered a variety of customizations before their match, allowing them to alter their bullet size, charge speed, and shield thickness to their preferred levels.
This grants each team the ability to outfit their members uniquely. For instance, one player could be designated an attack position by lowering their charge time for rapid fire shots, while another could increase the thickness of their shield, in-turn becoming a human shield, or tank, for their team.
Launching Q1 2019 in Japan, the pro league initiative will feature the best and brightest HADO players duking it out for augmented glory in one of HADO’s 60+ arenas spread throughout 15 countries. Tournaments will be held every week and will include a cash prize pool for the winners (this year alone over $120,000USD is being distributed to current participating teams).
Those 7 year and older are invited to participate, although only a small selection of hand-picked influencers will actually have the opportunity to “go pro.” It all kicks off in Japan 2019, with plans to expand to the APAC, EU, and US by 2020. The professional league will begin its first official season Q3 of 2019, running into Q4.
Alongside this new league, HADO will continue to grow upon HADO KART, its go-kart-based AR experience which pits 3-8 friends against one another in a fast-paced race to amass the largest collection of augmented coins. The company has also teased a variety of other location-based experiences for their HADO arenas, such as laser tag, trampoline parks, indoor family entertainment, and much more.
For a full list of the participating HADO arenas, visit https://meleap.com/hado/shop/
Image Credit: HADO
