To speak to the question of why Burbank? We did have conversations with a number of different partners and explored a variety of options with regards to venues - also on the East Coast (you might remember me tweeting about location scouting the day after Fall Finals for instance). Unfortunately, none of these worked out for this year. That being said, we are actively continuing these conversations for future events.
As most of you know, the ESL campus with our broadcast studios located in Burbank is our home base (internally, we call it the campus because were spread across different buildings, this is just the first time weve used the term publicly). I am confident that those who make the trip to California will not be disappointed and will have a great time here. Our space has come a long way since we had our first Halo tournament here over 2 years ago - since then we have probably grown 4 times or so - and with this event were pushing for yet a better experience with more cool shit to do than at Fall Finals. We are working on a bunch of activities for the on-site audience, which is why we are calling it a festival. In addition to watching the world elite compete we want our guests to be part of a weekend full of Halo all around. Our goal is to make people feel the gravity and weight of this event and what it means to the players, fans and community
In addition, were working on maximizing the available space for audience seating inside the studio so that more of you will be able to witness the action first hand than during Fall Finals. To that end were changing up the layout, for instance by moving the FFA outside of the studio. As pointed out, there will be an outside viewing area where well have the feeds and gameplay from both streams - so there will be as much action going on outside as there will be inside. In total, we are aiming for 300+ guests, in addition to the players and crew.
I also know that our production team will give everyone watching on-site and at home a great show worthy of a world championship for the entire weekend. Well have two streams going so that anyone can watch any match they want. Personally, I am proud of the production quality weve brought to the table and we are constantly pushing ourselves to be better and I am confident to say that we have been able to step it up from event to event. I have no doubt that we will be able to do this again and put on an amazing show for the World Championship!
I hope this offers some perspective on why the event is held at Burbank and gives you confidence in that you will enjoy the event. We aim to put on one hell of a show and an incredible weekend for both players and spectators alike.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you there!