Official competition for Ghost Recon Online launches Sept. 15

The first official tournament for free-to-play shooter Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online will kick off on Sept. 15, publisher Ubisoft announced today.

Ubisoft has partnered with the Electronic Sports Leagues of North America and Europe to make the Ghost Recon Online competition possible. Players must register by 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 15 in order to participate in the first cup; registration for following cups can be completed at any time. Upon registration, players will be entered into the seven-week competition of head-to-head matches and have the ability to participate in new mini-cup challenges each week.

At the end of the seven weeks, the top four teams with the most points will qualify for the U.S. and European Final Playoffs, which will take place at a later date.

Ahead of the competition on Sept. 12, Ghost Recon Online's 0.12.4 update will add more powerful tier 8 weapons, including the SPAS-12 semi-auto Shotgun and Nemesis 50 sniper rifle. The update will also introduce the Athena Council, which will be compromised of a group of volunteered players that have been selected through a screening process. This group of players will have regular contact with the game's developers to share feedback and help them shape the future of the game.

Ghost Recon Online is currently in open beta on Windows PC.