The Saudi-founded Esports World Cup has opened its first edition outside the kingdom, bringing more than 2,000 professional players and 200 clubs to Paris for seven weeks of competition backed by a prize pool exceeding $75 million.
Running from July 6 through August 23, the 2026 tournament features 25 competitions across 24 game titles, with participants representing more than 100 countries.
The Paris edition gives Saudi Arabia’s most prominent esports project a larger international platform as the kingdom continues investing in gaming, tournaments, development studios and industry infrastructure under its economic diversification strategy.
Saudi Arabia Expands Its Esports Reach
The Esports World Cup began in Riyadh in 2024 and returned to the Saudi capital in 2025. Organizers originally planned to stage the 2026 competition there as well but later moved it to Paris.
Paris is now the first city outside Saudi Arabia to host the competition. Ralf Reichert, chief executive of the Esports Foundation, said Riyadh remained the tournament’s home while describing the French event as the beginning of a new international chapter.
Reichert said: “Competitive gaming has always had great players, great games and unforgettable champions. The Esports World Cup brings them together in one defining annual stage. For seven weeks in Paris, every title crowns its own winner, but every result also contributes to a bigger race: the Club Championship. That is what makes EWC different. It rewards not only individual brilliance, but the depth, consistency and ambition of an entire Club.”
The Paris edition broadens the tournament’s reach across Europe while retaining the club-based format established in Riyadh. Rather than focusing on a single game, the Esports World Cup rewards organizations for their performance across multiple titles through its Club Championship.
Organizers have allocated $30 million of the overall prize fund to the Club Championship, creating an incentive for major esports organizations to compete across several games rather than relying on one successful roster. The wider competition includes leading titles across personal computer, console and mobile gaming.
The foundation says the tournament’s 2025 edition attracted more than 750 million viewers worldwide and generated over 350 million hours watched.
Gaming Becomes a Bigger Economic Focus
Saudi Arabia’s involvement in esports extends beyond hosting tournaments. Gaming has been incorporated into the kingdom’s Vision 2030 diversification agenda, which seeks to expand industries outside oil and create new employment and investment opportunities.
The Public Investment Fund says the National Gaming and Esports Strategy aims to establish or incubate 250 gaming companies, create 39,000 jobs and contribute about $13.3 billion to the Saudi economy by 2030.
Much of the kingdom’s international gaming activity is carried out through Savvy Games Group, a company owned by PIF. Savvy has pursued acquisitions, investments and commercial partnerships across game development, publishing and esports.
One of Savvy Games Group’s largest transactions was its $4.9 billion acquisition of U.S.-based games publisher and developer Scopely. PIF announced the completion of the deal in July 2023 after the companies received the required regulatory approvals.
Savvy’s portfolio also includes ESL FACEIT Group, an esports tournament and entertainment business formed through the combination of ESL and FACEIT. These assets give the Saudi gaming strategy a presence across both the creation of games and the organization of competitive events.
Paris Tests the World Cup’s Global Appeal
Moving the tournament abroad creates a practical test of whether the Esports World Cup can retain its scale and identity outside Riyadh. Previous editions benefited from direct links to Saudi Arabia’s expanding entertainment infrastructure and its efforts to position the capital as an international gaming destination.
Paris provides different advantages, including extensive transport connections, experience hosting major sporting events and access to Europe’s established gaming and esports communities. The Esports Foundation said those factors contributed to the city’s selection.
The competition’s long-term impact will depend on more than prize money or audience figures. Saudi Arabia is attempting to connect global acquisitions, domestic company formation, workforce development and major live events into a single gaming ecosystem.
Paris now offers the first major indication of whether that ecosystem can support an esports platform with appeal beyond its original host city.
