This year, the qualification path includes a major new feature: you can begin your climb through success at local game stores or in weekly league tournaments held on Board Game Arena (BGA). This opens a brand-new avenue for dedicated Explorers who may not be able to travel to major events!

Every store that participated in the current edition's Gamefound campaign will be able to host one or more qualifier tournaments. The top players from these tournaments will advance to the Season Finals, which will be held online on BGA at the end of each season. In parallel, our partner Community Leagues* that organize regular online tournaments will also qualify their best players for these same Season Finals.

Stores will receive a specific communication in the coming weeks detailing the process for implementing the new qualifier events.

See below How to become partner for Community Leagues

Each Season will conclude in exclusive, invite-only Finals. Qualified players from both local game store events and online Community Leagues will battle it out in these stages to claim the first coveted Finalist slots for the Altered World Championships.

After the three Seasons are complete (set 4, 5 & 6), an online Invitational event will be held. This provides a last-chance opportunity for the top performers from each of the Season Finals to secure their place in the World Championship Finals.

We are committed to delivering the same memorable tournament experience as last year, and will therefore organize new in-person qualifier championships in 2026. These major tournaments will allow players to reconnect, compete in large-scale qualifiers, and earn a direct spot in the World Championship Finals.

More details, including tournament dates, organizing partners, prize structures, and participation guidelines, will be shared early next year.

Just ahead of the World Championship Finals, a "Last Chance Qualifier" will be held, mirroring the successful format from last October. This event offers the most determined competitors one final opportunity to seize one of the last 8 available qualification slots and join the 24 already-secured finalists.

The Finals returns with a host of exciting changes! Which Explorer has what it takes to rise to the occasion and claim the world title from the reigning champion?

While we could not fully launch the intended Judge Program during Altered's first competitive year, supporting our Judges remains a top priority. Your assistance is critical, and we are committed to actively backing the community that has formed around organized judging. Our key objectives are unchanged:

• Streamlining official ruling and policy procedures.
• Facilitating connections between Judges and tournament organizers.

Our immediate priority is publishing a complete update to the Tournament Guidelines. Among other objectives, this revision will focus on simplifying the End-of-Match Rules across all Altered formats, which we currently believe are too complicated for both players and organizers to easily understand and implement. This new version will integrate all insights gained throughout this first year of competitive play.

We temporarily paused the Tumult Championships during Skybound Odyssey to manage changes in our distribution model. They are now set for a major comeback with the launch of Seeds of Unity, bringing an updated prize structure, increased format flexibility, and new developments for the Lore event! We will drop a detailed article early next year, but here is an exclusive visual preview: