Overview
- The cooperation was terminated by mutual agreement roughly 14 months after it was unveiled during the Paris 2024 Olympics, ending Riyadh’s guaranteed hosting run from 2025.
- The IOC says it will develop a new approach and pursue a new partnership model for the Olympic Esports Games, with no host or date yet confirmed.
- Saudi-backed Esports World Cup Foundation will proceed with its events and launch an Esports Nations Cup in November 2026.
- Efforts to align esports with Olympic values have been complicated by the IOC’s non-violence criteria, publisher negotiations, national-team structures and anti-doping frameworks, and criticism of past IOC-run esports events.
- The split comes as Saudi Arabia expands its gaming footprint, including a PIF-led $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts, amid reported ‘sportswashing’ accusations that the kingdom rejects.