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Counter-Strike 2 Confirmed for Esports World Cup 2025
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
PUBG Mobile Esports Partners With Qiddiya Gaming
PUBG Mobile Esports has entered into a sponsorship agreement with Qiddiya Gaming, a government-owned mega-city project in Saudi Arabia.
- PUBG Mobile Esports has signed a sponsorship deal with Qiddiya Gaming, a Saudi Arabian government-owned city project.
- The partnership will debut at the PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC 24), taking place December 6–8, 2024, at the ExCel Centre in London.
- Marketing activations for the deal include arena signage, social media branding, and integration into the game’s 'World of Wonder' creative mode.
Dota 2 Confirmed for the Esports World Cup 2025
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that Valve’s multiplayer online battle arena title, Dota 2, will return to the Esports World Cup in 2025.
- Valve’s Dota 2 has been officially confirmed as a competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- The 2024 edition of the Dota 2 competition at the Esports World Cup featured a total prize pool of $5 million, with the winning team, Gaimin Gladiators, receiving $1.5 million.
- The Esports World Cup is an eight-week event funded by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund and is tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2025.
Street Fighter 6 Confirmed for Esports World Cup 2025
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that Street Fighter 6 will return as a competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Street Fighter 6 has been officially confirmed as a competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- The 2025 event lineup also includes Free Fire, Honor of Kings, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Call of Duty: Warzone.
- The 2025 tournament is expected to feature a prize pool of at least $1 million USD, consistent with the previous year's competition.
Major Changes at Shanghai-Based VSPO Afoot
The Shanghai-based esports tournament organizer VSPO has initiated a significant corporate restructuring, rebranding itself as Hero Esports to facilitate international expansion.
- Shanghai-based esports tournament organizer VSPO has rebranded to Hero Esports as part of an international brand alignment strategy.
- Co-founder and current CFO Danny Tang has been appointed as the new CEO to lead the company's international expansion.
- Founder and former CEO Dino Ying is transitioning to the role of executive chairman, where he will focus on product development and major initiatives like the Esports Asian Champions League, the Esports World Cup, and the Olympic Esports Games.
VSPO to Host its Esports Asian Champions League in China
Chinese esports operator VSPO has announced plans to host the Esports Asian Champions League (ACL) in China in 2025.
- Chinese esports operator VSPO announced it will host the Esports Asian Champions League (ACL) in China in 2025.
- The ACL will operate under a dedicated foundation, with VSPO co-founder Wang Xinyi serving as CEO and co-founder Xie Fan as president.
- The league is positioned as a partner to the Esports World Cup (EWC), with HRH Prince Faisal serving as honorary president and discussions underway regarding the ACL serving as an Asian qualifier for the EWC.
GameSquare Claims Record Monthly Contract Wins of Over $14M in August
GameSquare Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GAME) reported a record-breaking performance in August 2024, securing over $14 million in new contract wins.
- GameSquare Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GAME) secured over $14 million in new contracts during August 2024, marking a record month for the company's business development.
- The new contracts are concentrated in higher-margin segments, including the company's agency, intellectual property (IP), and esports teams divisions.
- The company expects these contract wins to contribute to revenue throughout 2024 and 2025, with management anticipating gross margin expansion in the second half of 2024.
Esports World Cup: 120M Hours Watched
The Esports World Cup, held from July 3 to August 25, 2024, generated 120 million hours of watch time over its eight-week duration.
- The Esports World Cup (EWC) recorded 120 million hours watched over its eight-week competition period from July 3 to August 25, 2024.
- The EWC ranked as the fourth most-watched esports series of 2024, trailing the MLBB Professional League, LCK, and Valorant Champions Tour.
- League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2 accounted for more than 64% of the total 120 million hours watched.
The Inaugural Esports World Cup’s Live Streaming Performance
The inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC) established itself as a significant global event, successfully navigating competition with the Olympic Games to generate 103 million hours of watched content and a peak viewership of 2.8 million.
- The inaugural Esports World Cup generated 103 million hours watched and reached a peak viewership of 2.8 million, despite competing directly with the Olympics for two weeks.
- Co-streaming was a significant driver of engagement, accounting for 44% of the event's total viewership.
- MOBAs dominated the tournament landscape, generating 62.3 million hours watched and maintaining an average minute viewership (AMA) of 245,000, significantly outperforming Battle Royale and FPS genres.
Gen.G Esports Plans Regional Office in Saudi Arabia
Gen.G Esports has initiated an expansion into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marking the organization as the first entity to leverage the Qiddiya City Club Program.
- Gen.G Esports is the first organization to participate in the Qiddiya City Club Program, an initiative designed to incentivize gaming and esports companies to establish operations in the Saudi Arabian government-backed project.
- As part of its expansion into Riyadh, Gen.G is partnering with local and international entities including the Saudi Esports Federation, the Esports World Cup Foundation, stc play, and LG Electronics Business Solutions Saudi Arabia.
- The Qiddiya City Club Program provides participants with premium office space and facilities in Riyadh's stc Square from 2025 to 2027 before transitioning to custom-designed facilities within Qiddiya City starting in 2028.
Esports World Cup Claims More Than 500M Total Viewers
The Esports World Cup Foundation reported significant engagement metrics following the conclusion of its inaugural eight-week tournament held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 2 to August 24, 2024.
- The Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, reported over 500 million total viewers and 2 million in-person attendees during its eight-week run from July 2 to August 24, 2024.
- The event featured competition across 21 different games and generated over 250 million hours of total content consumption.
- The Esports World Cup Foundation awarded more than $60 million in total prize money, with $20 million allocated specifically to the Club Championship.
Riot Games Reveals Plans for Valorant Champions Tour in 2025
Riot Games has outlined its strategic roadmap for the 2025 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), focusing on global expansion, structural adjustments to the competitive ecosystem, and a refined tournament calendar.
- The 2025 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) will feature three major global events: Masters in Bangkok (February), Masters in Toronto (June), and the season-ending Champions tournament in Paris.
- International league rosters will expand from 11 to 12 teams in 2025, with winning teams from the tier-2 Ascension circuit required to defend their spots at the end of the season.
- The 2025 season will run from January to October and introduce a new Championship Points system to determine qualification for the year-end Champions event.