$60M Esports World Cup A Preview To ’25 Saudi Arabia Esports Olympics

By Barry Janoff

August 26, 2024: Last month, in conjunction with the Paris Summer Games, the International Olympic Committee confirmed the formation of the Olympic Esports Games, with the inaugural event to be staged in 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“This is truly a new era for the IOC,” IOC president Thomas Bach said at the time via the organization. “The eSports community, represented in our Esports Commission, has enthusiastically engaged with this initiative. This is further proof of the attractivity of the Olympic brand and the values it stands for among young people.”

Bach said the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia “will bring great — if not unique — experience in the field of esports to this project. This partnership is based on the Olympic Charter and the Olympic values.”

As a preview to that, between July 3-Aug. 25, the Esports World Cup Foundation — the non-profit organization dedicated to hosting the Esports World Cup — staged the inaugural Esports World Cup in what was called the world's largest eSports competition and gaming festival, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Esports World Cup awarded more than $60 million in prize money — saying it was the largest prize pool in eSports history — of which $20 million was reserved for the Club Championship, allocated across the Top 16 finishers.

The Esports World Cup said more than 1,500 of the world's best eSports players from 100-plus countries competed across 22 competitions in 21 games.

Sponsors included Elite Partner STC (Saudi TeleCom), adidas, Aramco, Axe, KitKat, MasterCard, Mentos, Pepsi and Sony.

The Esports World Cup Foundation also confirmed the event's return to Riyadh in July-August 2025.

"The Esports World Cup has underscored the transformative impact of eSports and the pivotal role that this incomparable industry now plays in cultures and societies all around the world,” HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said via the organization. “Its inclusive and empowering nature is something truly unique.

“For eight successive weeks, this unparalleled event has brought the entire international gaming community together like never before — inviting all to participate in this milestone moment in eSports history. We could not be more delighted with what's transpired this summer. it's a historic moment in time that Saudi Arabia and the world will always remember fondly."

Across its eight-week run, the Esports World Cup recorded more than 500 million viewers, who consumed over 250 million hours of content, describing it as the “most-watched tournament in 2024.”

Organizers said the event reached its highest peak with viewership of 3.5 million during the League of Legends Grand Final.

The games lineup consisted of (in alphabetic order): Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Warzone, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch 2, PUBG Battlegrounds, PUBG Mobile, ESL R1, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics, TEKKEN 8 and Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Siege.

As part of the Esports World Cup, the New Global Sport Conference 2024 this past weekend hosted a global delegation in Riyadh of more than 1,200 industry leaders.

Representatives from leading industries — such as gaming, eSports, technology, sports, entertainment, business and investment,  including 200-plus CEOs — explored the theme of "The Future of Fandom.”

“For eight successive weeks, this unparalleled event has brought the entire international gaming community together like never before."

Looking toward the future of eSports in the region, Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Savvy Games Group, Saudi Arabia’s National Champion for Games and Esports, to “advance the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and to create economic opportunities for game developers in the Middle East and around the world.”

The partnership will “foster the creation of 3,600 new video game industry jobs by the end of 2030 to advance the Kingdom’s vision for the future of games and eSports.”

In addition, the alliance will “explore opportunities to host industry-leading video game events for business and consumer audiences, provide funding for game development projects, and foster connections between local studios and international investors.

“This partnership with Xsolla represents a significant step forward in our mission to elevate Saudi Arabia’s games and eSports ecosystem to global prominence,” Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, said via the company.

“By combining our resources and expertise, we are creating jobs and building a vibrant, sustainable industry that will drive opportunity and creativity for years to come.”

Photo: IOCSavvy Games Group has invested “nearly $8 billion to acquire and establish ownership in global games brands,” according to gaming research and consulting firm Newzoo.

The IOC said it been engaging with eSsports since 2018 “in a holistic way. This culminated in the organization of the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in 2023.

“As a result of the success of this event, the IOC president asked the IOC Esports Commission at the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, India, in October 2023 to study the creation of the Olympic Esports Games.”

Gaming revenues in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) were projected to hit $7.2 billion in 2023, “with Saudi Arabia emerging as a key player in contributing to the overall growth of the sector,” according to Newzoo’s 2023 Global Games Market Report.

The U.S and China account for 49% of all consumer spending on games: The U.S. spent a total of $47.3 billion on games, and China $43.6 billion.

The Newzoo report said Saudi Arabia “has emerged as the leader in gaming investments in the MEA region, with the country’s Social Development Bank estimating the value of the video games market in the Kingdom at $1 billion, with projected market value to reach $2.5 billion by 2030.

“MEA accounts for 17% of global players (574 million) and a 12.3% year-over-year growth, the highest recorded worldwide.”

“Esports in Saudi Arabia already have a rich past, an exciting present and a promising future,” HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said via the organization. “And the reason why is the same reason why we are investing across all sports — our young people.

“Our commitment to eSports is simply a reflection of the world our young people live in, and we now all have the chance to write new Olympic history together. The chance to inspire new dreams and new ambitions for literally millions of athletes around the world.”

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