Mocrosoft today announced a global Halo 4 tournament will take place this summer. The Halo 4 “Global Championship” is sponsored by 343 Industries in cooperation with Virgin Gaming. Microsoft stated that nearly $500,000 worth of prizes is up for grabs, including a $200,000 grand prize.

The tournament will consist of five weeks of competition on Xbox Live. Halo fans can register at the Halo 4 Global Championship webiste to participate in the tournament. Starting July 15, a custom tournament playlist will appear in Halo 4, playable by those who have registered. The playlist will have different free-for-all modes each week for five weeks. Players who top global leaderboards will then get the chance to attend the tournament finals in Seattle, Washington on August 31 and September 1.

To qualify for the finals, players will have to compete in at least 20 of the playlist matches per week, which also qualifies them for weekly prizes such as Xbox 360 games or avatar items. The top four players on the leaderboard each week will qualify for the finals, where the top eight players after elimination matches will receive money.

Players can also qualify in the tournament by attending live competitions at the Rooster Teeth Expo in Austin, Texas from July 5 to 7, and at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany from August 21 to 25. Six finalists will be taken from each of the live competitions and 20 more will qualify from Xbox Live play. Each finalist receives an “expenses paid” trip to Seattle for the finals.