Olympic Esports Games End Partnership With Saudi Arabia

By Farouk Kannout  |  November 3, 2025 | 11:28am
Video Games News Electronic Arts
Olympic Esports Games End Partnership With Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s growing and worrisome list of collaborations in both video games and sports is shrinking by one today. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), and the Esports World Cup Foundation have “mutually agreed” to end their partnership following an internal review. This has led to the cancellation of the inaugural Olympic Esports Games, which was due to take place in Saudi Arabia in 2027. 

In an official announcement, the IOC stated that the three parties “mutually agreed that they will end their cooperation on the Olympic Esports Games. At the same time, both parties are committed to pursuing their own esports ambitions on separate paths.” The IOC added that it will “develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games” and “pursue a new partnership model.”

The original partnership planned to have Saudi Arabia host the games for the next 12 years, with the first event initially meant to take place in 2025, before being delayed to 2027. The Esports World Cup Foundation shared a separate statement on LinkedIn, saying, “we thank the IOC and SOPC for the open and collaborative dialogue over the past year. Esports continues to inspire millions of fans and athletes globally, and we recognize the shared ambition to elevate digital competition on the world stage.

“EWCF will continue to focus on building on the success of the Esports World Cup, the world’s largest gaming and esports festival, and launching the inaugural Esports Nations Cup in November 2026, a landmark event celebrating national pride, global competition, and community connection,” the post continued. 

It is unclear at this time the exact reasons for this partnership’s end, though Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights violations is the first thing that always comes to mind. The country has been criticized for “sportswashing” in recent years, and the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also been making various investments in the video game industry, including a recent buyout of EA. 

 
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