The Retro World Series main event awards cash prizes to the top eight places at a rate proportional to the number of attendees in each tournament. A trophy is awarded to winner of each tournament. $10 from every entry fee of each participant will go into a tournament prize pool. As shown below, the cash payout for the Versus tournaments will be 40/20/10/10/5/5/5/5.
| VS. | % | Payout ($)* |
| Winner | 40% | $512 |
| Runner-Up | 20% | $256 |
| Semifinalist | 10% | $128 |
| Semifinalist | 10% | $128 |
| Quarterfinalist | 5% | $64 |
| Quarterfinalist | 5% | $64 |
| Quarterfinalist | 5% | $64 |
| Quarterfinalist | 5% | $64 |
| * Based on 128 player tournament ($1,280 prize pool) | ||
The Retro World Series also hosts satellite tournaments throughout the 2016 season before the main event. The tournament types will be versus, speedrun, and high score. The satellite tournaments will feature single elimination versus tournaments and single round, single game, speedrun and high score tournaments. The winner of each tournament will win a $50 Visa Gift Card and a free entry into the Main Event tournament of their choice. The runner-up will receive a $25 Visa Gift Card. Players who place high enough earn points towards the Player of the Year award.