Saudi E-sports Federation Announces creation of E-sports World Cup
On Monday morning (Oct 23), the Saudi E-sports Federation announced the creation of the first E-sports World Cup.
On Monday morning (Oct 23), the Saudi E-sports Federation announced the creation of the first E-sports World Cup. Located in the city of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the competition will have its inaugural edition in 2024, between the months of June and September.
Lasting eight weeks, the tournament is intended to be an evolution of the existing Gamers 8, the country’s multimodality tournament which has been taking place since 2022. Billed as “the world’s biggest gaming and e-sports event”, the Cup should follow the same pattern of games.
Which games should make up the E-sports World Cup?
In its debut announcement, the games that will be part of the competition calendar during the weeks of competition were not announced. However, based on similar competitions held by the Saudi Federation, it is possible to speculate on at least ten options.
Among them are the recent releases, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) and EA Sports FC. Games with wide public appeal such as Dota 2, Fortnite, PUBG and its mobile version, Rainbow Six Siege (R6), Rocket League, StarCraft 2 and Street Fighter 6 also have high expectations.
Investment in E-sports by Saudi Arabia has been strong for more than five years
The country’s new venture is nothing new on the E-sports scene. Since the creation of the Saudi E-sports Federation in 2017, the government has already invested a large amount in the e-sports scene.
With the support of a Saudi fund, Savvy Gaming Group bought ESL and FACEIT, two of the world’s leading esports companies, for US$1.5 billion – equivalent to around R$8.2 billion at the start of 2022.
In addition, the company plans to invest heavily in transforming the country into a global E-sports hub. The country’s prince, Mohammed bin Salman, commented on the initiative.
“The E-sports World Cup is the natural next step in Saudi Arabia’s journey to become the global hub for gaming and e-sports, offering an unparalleled e-sports experience that will push the boundaries of the industry,” he said.