Farming Simulator 19 DLC preps the game for esports greatness

Farming Simulator 19 just got competitive. Developer GIANTS Software has rolled out its newest PC update for the typically tranquil game, allowing farmers from around the world to go head to head online in a bloody fight to the death.

The Farming Simulator League (FSL) update is completely free to those who own a copy of Farming Simulator 19 and hosts dedicated servers for those seeking an online match-up. This latest content drop will include two comprehensive tutorial videos, one introducing the FSL Game Mode and the other explaining how the league will work.

That’s all well and good, you’re probably thinking, but how the hell has GIANTS been able to turn Farming Simulator into a competitive multiplayer experience, let alone one with its own fledgling esports scene?

The video above does a great job of explaining the rules. For any competitive video game to be credible there need to be rules, methods of point-scoring, and a level playing field. In this case a literal playing field.

Matches are fifteen minutes long and pit two teams of three against each other to see who can harvest and bail the most in that time.

Just like serious esports titles such as Dota 2, League of Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege, the FSL has a pick and ban phase. This allows players to select their all-star lineup of farming machinery while also vaulting others to prevent the opposing team from picking them.

Each match will take place within the same arena which is split into five zones. Players will start in their vehicle of choice before making a beeline to the harvesters and balers. They both have their own separate field to work and will need to place their finished bales into a dedicated drop zone to bank points.

To keep players on their toes, this mode will occasionally throw power ups onto the field. There’s also another tactical layer where one team can bag an instant win if they happen to possess all three harvesters or balers.

On the surface it all sounds very silly, but there’s something strangely fascinating about it too. Speaking with some of the team from GIANTS recently, they have an enormous amount of faith in the FSL mode and stress the importance of bringing more non-violent games into the esports space.

With the doors now open, the developer will be responding to player feedback and rolling out updates ahead of the debut competitive tournament being held at FarmCon in July.

Source: Press Release

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Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.