Overwatch 2 and EA FC 25 Confirmed for 2025 Esports World Cup

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New additions

Overwatch 2 and EA FC 25 are confirmed for the 2025 Esports World Cup.

Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 and Electronic Arts’ EA FC 25 will be official titles. The event is set to begin in July 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Expanding roster

The 2025 Esports World Cup will feature a diverse range of games.

Confirmed titles include PUBG Mobile, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, and Street Fighter 6. Free Fire, Honor of Kings, Counter-Strike 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Call of Duty Warzone are also included.

Diverse Games. The 2025 tournament will include titles such as Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and various mobile and PC battle royale games.

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Summary

The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 and Electronic Arts’ EA FC 25 will be featured titles in the 2025 Esports World Cup. This announcement signals a deepening commitment from major Western game publishers to the Saudi Arabian-funded tournament series, which is scheduled to take place over eight weeks starting in July 2025 in Riyadh. The inclusion of these titles follows a broader trend of industry integration, with the Call of Duty League even adjusting its competitive calendar to accommodate the event.

The Esports World Cup serves as a successor to the Gamers8 tournament and is managed by the non-profit Esports World Cup Foundation, which receives funding via a sporting grant from the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund. Operations are handled by the ESL FACEIT Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group. The event features a diverse roster of games, including titles such as Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Rainbow Six Siege, and various mobile and PC battle royale games.

Financial stakes for the competition remain significant, as evidenced by the 2024 iteration where individual titles offered substantial prize pools, such as $1 million for both EA FC 24 and other featured games. Despite the commercial growth and publisher participation, the event continues to face scrutiny from international human rights organizations. Critics frequently characterize the tournament as a form of sports washing, arguing that the Saudi government utilizes these high-profile gaming events to improve its global image and distract from documented concerns regarding human rights, including LGBTQ+ and women’s rights.