Halo 5 World Championship crowdfunds $500k extra prize purse during launch week

Halo 5 has been out for just over a week in The States and its in-game monetisation has already allowed players to crowdfund half a million dollars for the World Championships.

The Halo World Championships, to be held from December to March by Microsoft and 343 Industries, started with an initial prize purse of $1.5m, which will now sit over $2m thanks to fans.

The Requisitions, or REQ, system in Halo 5 allows multiplayer participants to unlock items and weapons for use in the game’s competitive mode.

REQ can be earned through play, or bought in card packs, with a portion of the proceeds going towards the HWC prize pool – meaning players have spent far more than half a million on REQ since the game’s launch.

Having learned that this style of direct input fundraising can result in pools the size of this year’s Dota 2 International, 343 have clearly seen the light in their eSports planning.

Enthusiastic crowdfunding also caused Hi-Rez Studios to limit their World Championship prize money while creating more events throughout the year.