Halo World Championship 2026: none announced, and the top Halo tournament is a $150,000 HCS Invitational at Halo Fest on Dec. 12 and 13

There’s no Halo World Championship on the 2026 calendar so far. Here’s the top Halo tournament in December instead: when it is, how it works and how to watch.

Is there a Halo World Championship in 2026?

Not so far. Halo Studios hasn’t announced a Halo World Championship for 2026. The top Halo pro tournament on the calendar is the HCS Invitational at Halo Fest, which brings eight of the world’s best Halo teams to Seattle on Dec. 12 and 13, 2026.

Halo Fest celebrates the series' 25th anniversary, and Halo Studios announced it at the last Halo World Championship in October 2025. It opens with a Seattle Symphony concert at Benaroya Hall on Dec. 11, and the convention follows in the Arch Building of the Seattle Convention Center, with more than double the floor space and the attendees of the 2025 world championship.

When and where is the HCS Invitational?

On Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13, 2026, in the Arch Building. VIP doors open at 9:30 a.m. PT on both days and general admission at 10 a.m. PT, which is 1 p.m. ET. The convention closes at 8 p.m. PT on Saturday and 7:30 p.m. PT on Sunday. Halo Studios hasn’t published match times yet. Matches run on an HCS Stage and a smaller featured stage.

Prize pool and teams

The prize pool is $150,000. The winner takes $50,000, second place $25,000, third $20,000 and fourth $15,000, while fifth and sixth get $12,000 each and seventh and eighth $8,000 each.

Teams got in by direct invitation, not through HCS points. The organizers looked at HCS partnered teams still active in the scene, top pros and teams with consistent results, and positive contributors to the Halo community. All eight invitees have accepted, and Halo’s official site said on Oct. 17 that a blog post naming the teams and top players comes early the following week. Rosters lock on Oct. 26.

How the format works

The tournament is played on Halo Infinite with the latest HCS maps and modes. On Saturday, the eight teams split into two GSL double elimination groups of four. The top two from each group reach the championship bracket, and the bottom two are eliminated on day one. On Sunday, the final four teams play out the championship bracket.

How to watch and the open tournaments

Every match in group play and the bracket is broadcast on the HCS channel on YouTube and on Twitch at twitch.tv/hcs and twitch.tv/hcs_red, so you don’t need a ticket to follow it. Halo Fest itself sold out by the end of July.

Attendees can play too. Halo Fest has $50,000 in open tournaments across nine events. On Saturday, the Halo Infinite Open 4v4 for 16 teams plays for $20,000, with $6,000 for the winner and the grand finals on Sunday morning, next to Halo: CE 2v2 for $2,500, Halo Infinite 2v2 for $3,500 and Halo 3 4v4 for $2,750. On Sunday, the Halo Infinite free-for-all takes up to 128 players for $10,000, with $3,000 for first place, and Halo 2 4v4, Halo 3 2v2, Halo 5 2v2 and Halo 2 2v2 play for $2,500 to $3,500 each.

Because Halo Fest sold out before the Team Pass details were announced, 16 Team Passes for the Open 4v4 go on sale in November, four to six weeks before the event. Each one covers admission for four players and a coach, and teams get the offer in order of HCS points from three Global Grassroots Cups, the last on Oct. 17 and 18, plus reduced points from DreamHack Birmingham and Atlanta. The convention also has a Halo Games Done Quick speedrunning stage, and the voice actors of the Master Chief, Cortana, 343 Guilty Spark and the multiplayer announcer are guests. For what’s next on the game side, see our next Halo game page.

This page is updated as soon as Halo Studios names the eight HCS Invitational teams and publishes the match schedule.