Counter-Strike 2 Confirmed for Esports World Cup 2025

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
Counter-Strike 2 has been officially confirmed as a competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the summer.
02
The Esports World Cup is an eight-week competition funded by the Saudi Government’s Public Investment Fund and facilitated by the ESL FACEIT Group.
03
Other confirmed titles for the 2025 event include Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, Street Fighter 6, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Call of Duty: Warzone.
04
The 2024 iteration of the tournament featured a prize pool of approximately $1 million USD, with Natus Vincere (NAVI) emerging as the winner.
05
The ESL FACEIT Group, which helps organize the event, is a subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, an entity led by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Summary

The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 will return as a featured competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup. The event, which spans eight weeks, is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the summer of 2025. This announcement follows the successful inclusion of the title in the 2024 iteration of the tournament, where the organization Natus Vincere secured the championship title.

The 2025 lineup for the Esports World Cup continues to expand, with other confirmed titles including Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, Street Fighter 6, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, and the Call of Duty franchise. The tournament is facilitated by the ESL FACEIT Group, a subsidiary of the Savvy Games Group, which operates under the backing of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

The inclusion of Counter-Strike 2 highlights the ongoing collaboration between major game publishers and the Saudi-funded esports ecosystem. Given that the ESL FACEIT Group already manages a Valve-sanctioned circuit for the game, industry observers are monitoring whether the Riyadh event will be integrated as an official stop on the professional calendar, potentially elevating its status to a Majors-level competition. The 2024 event set a significant financial benchmark with a prize pool of approximately $1 million, underscoring the substantial investment directed toward these high-profile international esports gatherings.