$10,000 Polytopia World Championship begins

Celebrated strategy game The Battle of Polytopia is calling all mobile and desktop players aged 18 and over to join the Polytopia World Championship 2025, an inclusive esports event with a $10,000 prize pool.

The first qualifier round kicks off this Saturday and Sunday, September 13th to 14th. The concept is ‘The Battle of the Tribes’ with 12 winners (one for each of the game’s feted tribes) advancing to the Face Off Round.

Qualifying rounds for each tribe will continue over the next 10 weeks at 12:00 and 18:00 CET every Saturday and Sunday, before six finalists are taken out to the in-person and live-streamed finals on December 6th in Stockholm, the game’s home city.

First launched in 2016 by Swedish indie studio Midjiwan, The Battle of Polytopia reinvents the typically complex ‘4X’ video game genre, delivering a game that is straightforward, welcoming, yet packed with immense strategic depth. The Battle of Polytopia asks players to claim land, develop technologies, and manage resources to outperform and invade rival civilizations, also striving to dominate.

At the conclusion of The Battle of the Tribes, 12 triumphant players will advance to the Face Off Round, which takes place in the second half of November, reducing 12 qualifier winners to six finalists who are all guaranteed a cash prize.

The finals themselves will feature a studio audience, expert commentary, and a chance to peek behind the scenes at Midjiwan itself. The World Champion of Polytopia 2025 will receive $4,000, the runner-up will take away $2,000, the third and fourth place finishers will get $1,500, and the fifth and sixth place $500.

Players can enter through the Polytopia Official Space on the Challengermode esports platform or inside the game itself by selecting Multiplayer > Tournaments. Throughout the tournament, the focus will be on Polytopia’s ‘Might’ game mode, with ‘single elimination’ matches, across a best-of-three format.

A full schedule, rules, and details of how to sign up can be found here. The schedule is also listed below, and players are encouraged to join the tournament channel at the Official Polytopia Discord

“Polytopia has always been about welcoming all kinds of players into the world of 4X strategy. That’s why our championship is open to everyone – not just pros with sponsors. We’re excited to bring the finalists to Stockholm and can’t wait to see the strategies that emerge. There’s still time to join – sign up and good luck!”

Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan

Behind its apparent simplicity, The Battle of Polytopia has been consistently praised for its depth and replayability, with notable fans including Mr Beast and Google DeepMind founder and Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis. Despite its success and longevity, Midjiwan’s creation rejects the commercially greedy model seen in many live service titles, only ever charging players for extra content and cosmetic items.

The full qualifier schedule follows: