Introduction and Purpose
As always, our team has reviewed coach and player feedback from the previous season to see what mid-season updates we can make to improve the quality of competition without impacting the overall integrity between the two seasons.
We’ve identified a few key areas in both High School and Middle School seasons that we believe streamline the pre-match setup process while clarifying our expectations, notably for Game Account Connections.
While we will highlight the adjustments below, we encourage all coaches and players to review the detailed points below, as well as the rulebook for your game title.
If you did not compete in the Fall 2025 season, please review the larger changes & additions that were made over the Summer before your first match this Spring.
League-Wide Updates
Several leagues offer their own league schedules and unique game title rules this season. These schedules & rules are available in the published alternative schedules.
Recreational Leagues will now be Queue-Only, utilizing the recreational queue to find their matches weekly.
Recreational leagues continue to prove beneficial to our schools that are new to the platform, and for our younger players who are getting healthily introduced to the world of competitive gaming.
That being said, our traditional scheduling systems left leagues in an interesting spot, especially as middle schools began to close for the holiday break. Additionally, we didn’t like the idea of a recreational team being issued a forfeit for not showing up on match day.
To best address the above, we will be using a queue-only system that is quicker to match teams up (one queue time only), and avoids penalizing teams that are unable to join the queue for any reason.
Competition Rulebooks
Updated
Game Account Connection Requirements
2.2.3 Competitive Eligibility
We clarified that only where applicable are players required to compete on the game account connected to their PlayVS account.
6.2.7 Connected Accounts
Added a callout that coaches and/or team captains who confirm an incorrect roster without contacting PlayVS Support may incur game or match penalties at the full discretion of League Officials.
6.2.7.1 Shared School Game Accounts
We have removed the requirement to have game accounts connected for both Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe & Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate.
9.1.7 No coach available
Clarified that a coach or appointed coach may be available virtually on match day (unless otherwise required by the state).
Game accounts continue to be a significant cause for delays in starting a match and often result in disputes after a game is complete. These accounts must be confirmed and locked in at the Confirm Roster step. Accounts not matching fall under 7.3.3 Disputes During a Match, so matches completed without a League Official being notified will, by default, not have match results adjusted.
In-Game Content Updates
Game Title Rulebooks
New
3.3 Match F.A.Q. - In-Game Content Updates
PlayVS will no longer restrict characters (and maps in relevant esports) based on release dates. If a character and/or map is available for the game's respective competitive/ranked modes, then they are eligible for use in PlayVS matches at all times, regardless of phase.
We’ve continued to see confusion from teams on when characters are available for use in the regular season and when they are prohibited from use in the playoffs. To streamline competition and scrimmages, we are aligning the rules to match the present in-game competitive modes.
Impacted titles include:
League of Legends
Marvel Rivals
Overwatch 2
Pokémon UNITE
VALORANT
Fortnite: Zone Wars
*This title is not affiliated with the NFHS Network and some state associations, and may not be available in your state.*
New
Players may not use in-game voice chat during competition. It must be turned off before joining the match.
Presently, there is no competitive reason for players to communicate over voice chat for Fortnite matches. We want to continue to ensure a safe space for all players, and therefore have required that in-game voice chat be turned off for all Fortnite matches moving forward.
League of Legends
Updated
1.5 Stoppage of Play - Team Disconnection
Added clarity that if an entire team disconnects, the players in the match must pause the game.
This might be self-explanatory for many, but we noticed a few times where players just kept playing after the entire team disconnected. We’ve added clarity on what the active players should do if a team disconnects from the Rift.
Madden NFL 26
New
1.6 Game Disconnection
The historic rule for resets will now only apply to games disconnected in the first half, by default.
In the second half of a game:
Should the winning team disconnect, the game will be reset as normal.
Should the losing team disconnect, the game will end with the current results. A screenshot of the current score at the time of the disconnect is required to enforce this rule properly.
Updated
1.8 Specific Rules - Custom Playbooks
Custom playbooks are those created by the player. We have clarified the rules to include that alternate default playbooks can be used for competition.
Game disconnections in the second half of the game proved difficult to recreate, especially if it was in the fourth quarter. To streamline the process, we will now end the match if the losing team disconnects during the second half of a game.
Additionally, there was a bit of confusion on what a “Custom” rulebook actually was. The alternate playbooks provided in-game (such as Air Raid & Pistol for Offensive, and 3-4 & Multiple D for Defensive) are not custom. The best rule of thumb is that if a player can select it within our match assistant, then it's eligible to use.
Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe
Updated
1.1 Game Account Connections
Game accounts are no longer required to be connected for competition.
Nintendo Friend Codes have not been used in competition since the update that added Room IDs. As our team can request Friend Codes as needed, we have removed the requirement for game accounts to be connected for Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe competitions.
Marvel Rivals
Updated
1.7 Specific Rules - Game Mode & Map Pool
Clarified that the maps chosen for Game 1 (Domination) & Game 2 (Convoy) cannot be selected again for Game 4 & Game 5, respectively.
1.8 Costumes and Customizations
Added alternate MVP animations to the prohibited list of cosmetics.
Clarified the protocol for teams to properly callout alternate costume usage prior to the match starting.
Added a callout that screenshots and/or recordings are required for league officials to properly enforce the rule, and if necessary, issue penalties.
Clarifications aside, there have been a handful of MVP animations (similar to costumes) added to the game that are inappropriate for the scholastic space. To ensure our community can compete safely, we have prohibited the usage of both alternate costumes and alternate MVP animations moving forward.
Marvel Rivals leagues have been added that prohibit the usage of specific characters in their matches on the PlayVS platform. If your league offers an alternate schedule, please refer there for any characters that have (or will be) banned from usage in your league matches.
Pokémon UNITE
The team is working to finalize the map that will be used for competition in the Spring '26 season. Once finalized, the rulebook, match instructions, and this article will be updated.
There are presently three unique draft pick maps in Tournament Mode: Rayquaza, Groudon, and now Kyogre.
Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate
Updated
1.1 Game Account Connections
Game accounts are no longer required to be connected for competition.
Nintendo Friend Codes have not been used in competition for quite some time. As our team can request Friend Codes from coaches directly as needed, we have removed the requirement for game accounts to be connected for Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate competitions.