Farming Simulator sprouts esports league with €250k harvest

What's the most exciting activity you can think of? That's right, it's farming, and now there's an esports league for it.

Earlier today, Farming Simulator developer Giants Software unveiled its new official esports league. A total of 10 teams - the cream of the crop - will compete for the title of "the Farming Simulator champion" over a series of tournaments across Europe, with the season's total prize pool adding up to a weighty €250,000 (£217,640). Talk about fields of gold.

So, how on earth does a farming esports competition work? Last year Giants Software planted the seeds by staging a Farming Simulator championship to "test the waters" before launching the new full-scale esports league. The favoured game mode for season one was hay bale stacking, which looks exactly what it sounds like.

This year's league, however, will take place in Farming Simulator 19 with a new 3v3 mode - although details of how this works are yet to be unveiled. All we know is it will "stand true to its roots in farming and combine real field work like harvesting with fun and challenging game elements".

Although my gut reaction was to laugh at the idea of competitive farming, there's also something strangely fascinating about the concept. Similar to when you find yourself watching dressage or curling when the Olympics is on. It's a little off the beaten tractor.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen wheat-er the Farming Simulator esports league will become a major force in the esports world, but judging by the game's popularity in Europe, I think it has a fair chance. Giants Software sure hopes it will cotton on.