International Olympic Committee and Saudi Arabia scrap 12-year Olympic Esports Games partnership

The International Olympic Committee and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have ended their 12-year partnership on the Olympic Esports Games after just over a year, as both parties have decided to pursue separate esports initiatives.

The details:

• As announced earlier this week, the IOC, the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and the Esports World Cup Foundation have collectively agreed to drop the partnership, which would’ve seen the first ever official Esports Olympics take place in Riyadh in 2027.
• The partnership, which was announced during the 2024 Paris Olympics, aimed to create a new Olympic event focused on esports competitions. The 12-year agreement was positioned as a flagship project within Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program, with the nation investing billions in sports initiatives and infrastructure development.
• Following the end of the partnership, the IOC announced it will develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games, taking into account feedback from its "Pause and Reflect" process. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will continue with its “Nations Cup” plans, which were announced during EWC 2025 and feature a country vs. country format in various esports, similar to that of the Olympics.
• This is not the IOC’s first attempt at introducing esports, with the Olympic Esport Series being held back in 2023. However, the committee stated that the event would not feature games that do not “align with Olympic values,” resulting in ridicule from the gaming community due to its focus on relatively unknown games that simulate real-world sports.