Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup is a tournament that aims to elevate the gaming and electronic sports sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was announced by Crown Prince and Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in October 2023. The annual event will be hosted in the capital, Riyadh, starting in the summer of 2024.

The Crown Prince stated that the Esports World Cup is a natural step in the Kingdom's journey to becoming the global hub for gaming and esports, offering an unparalleled experience that exceeds industry standards. He emphasized that "the tournament will contribute to the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, including economic diversification, tourism enhancement, job creation across various sectors, and providing high-level entertainment for citizens, residents, and visitors alike."

The Kingdom announced the establishment of the Esports World Cup Foundation, a non-profit organization responsible for organizing the tournament. This foundation aims to foster new levels of cooperation among all partners and parties concerned with the gaming and esports ecosystem.

The tournament will feature the most popular games worldwide and offer the highest cash prizes in esports history. An innovative model for the tournament system will be implemented to crown the best club globally across all participating games. Following the success of the first two editions of "Gamers Season," this tournament was launched, especially since most of the Kingdom's population are youth.

The Esports World Cup supports the Kingdom's commitment to achieving Saudi Vision 2030 objectives by contributing to economic diversification, enhancing tourism, creating job opportunities, and providing high-quality entertainment for citizens, residents, and visitors. The Esports World Cup will support the strategic objectives of the gaming and esports sector, contribute over SAR50 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, create 39,000 new jobs, and establish Riyadh as the global capital of egames.

The tournament will be held in indoor arenas, accompanied by various activities and events, to attract a new segment of visitors interested in egaming and boost the tourism sector in Riyadh during the summer. This initiative aims to increase hospitality occupancy rates, which typically drop by up to 16 percent in the summer, and address the decline in tourism spending, which usually decreases by 18 percent during the same period. Additionally, the tournament will help compensate for the noticeable summer decline in spending at restaurants and cafes, which typically drops by 13 percent, and overall consumer spending, which usually decreases by 9 percent.