Esports World Cup Foundation Reveals Esports Nations Cup

The Esports World Cup Foundation has announced the launch of the Esports Nations Cup, a biennial international tournament designed to foster national-level competition. The inaugural event is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2026, after which the competition will adopt a rotating host model. This initiative aims to build national ecosystems and provide a platform for players to represent their countries, with the foundation emphasizing that the tournament is intended to complement, rather than replace, existing major esports events.

The foundation is collaborating with key industry stakeholders, including Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft, to develop the tournament’s structure. These publishers will play a central role in defining national ranking systems, qualification pathways, and event formats. The competition will feature teams from all major global regions, including North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, Asia, and Southeast Asia and Oceania. The qualification model is designed to balance competitiveness and inclusivity through a combination of global rankings, regional qualifiers, wildcard entries, and solidarity placements.

While specific game titles have not been confirmed, the involvement of the aforementioned publishers suggests that popular titles such as Rainbow Six Siege, EA FC, and the PUBG franchise are likely candidates for inclusion. The announcement, made at the New Global Sport Conference, reflects a broader effort by the Esports World Cup Foundation to expand its influence in the global competitive gaming landscape. Despite the organization's stated goals of inspiring the next generation and accelerating industry growth, the project faces ongoing scrutiny from international human rights organizations regarding the broader context of state-backed events in Saudi Arabia.