You may have noticed that we're working on something pretty exciting! We wanted to give a bit more info about it and our vision for in-game tournaments:



Fundamentals:



Skill and experience help bring an important depth of play, so first and foremost we're aiming to have tournaments unlock at close to the Tournament Rules level. This also gives a really exciting and achievable short to midterm goal for new players to aim for. Additionally, all tournaments are played using the Tournament Rules .

Proximity:

We created Clash Royale by playing together in the same rooms around the office, soon discovering that this was one of the most fun ways to play. The idea of being able to run local ad-hoc tournaments with friends at the pub, work or wherever is really exciting - so location became a core element of the design early on.

Playing with nearby people is the best for fast, active matchmaking and more spectators. Every tournament has a location based on where it's created - precision can be improved if you allow it, but it's not required. This is how your location will appear to others:

Inclusiveness:



After you've unlocked the feature, the idea that anyone can turn up, play and win a Clash Royale tournament - both online and in person - is the feeling we're looking for. This concept made us re-evaluate whether a traditional brackets and elimination system would work. Several internal playtests showed us that requiring people to be online at the exact times of their matches didn't work as well as we wanted.

We decided to go with a closed matchmaking system instead, meaning each tournament has a leaderboard and matchmaking pool of its own. Similarities to the global/local leaderboards are beneficial for ease of understanding and it scales really nicely for big tournaments, too. This approach felt like the most flexible and best fit for all players to participate at their own pace. Bonus: You won't need to leave your clan to play in a tournament any more!





There's plenty more to tell, so make sure you come back tomorrow for Part 2, where we're covering tournament creation, prizes and balance!



See you in the Arena,

The Clash Royale Team