Sony lately ended one in all its extra bizarre pandemic-era side-quests by promoting its majority stake within the combating sport occasion Evo. One of many largest esports occasions of the yr is now co-owned by expertise administration firm RTS and India-based NODWIN Gaming. That appeared principally wonderful, till now.
Yesterday Qiddiya Gaming, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Funding Fund (PIF). introduced it was taking full possession of RTS, making it the second-biggest stakeholder for Evo. Chief technique officer Muhannad Aldawood known as it “a strategic step that will further strengthen our esports business and unlock new opportunities across the broader gaming ecosystem.”
He added, “most importantly, this will enable Qiddiya to keep fueling the continued growth of Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s largest fighting game event since 1996, with unlimited potentials.”
The transfer places the premier occasion for Road Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and different combating video games squarely within the crosshairs of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing efforts to “sportswash” its abysmal human rights fame and the truth that it’s nonetheless dominated by a literal monarch within the yr 2025. Different notable makes an attempt embody issues like merging with the PGA Tour, partnering with WWE, and paying Christiano Ronaldo $700 million to play soccer in Riyadh.
There have additionally been large shifts into gaming as effectively. This has included investing billions throughout all the pieces from Nintendo and Capcom to Digital Arts and Nexon Gaming. Earlier this yr, it purchased Pokémon Go and different Niantic-developed cellular video games for a whopping $3.5 billion. It even purchased all of King of Fighters and Metallic Slug writer SNK Company, taking the corporate non-public and seemingly forcing the builders to place Ronaldo in this year’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
However the push has been much more obvious in aggressive gaming. It bought main international match organizer ESL FACEIT in 2022, and snagged a 30 p.c stake in Chinese language esports firm Hero Esports in 2023. And it simply wrapped up the 2025 Esports World Cup, an try to astroturf a brand new main aggressive gaming occasion into existence by way of large prize swimming pools by no means earlier than seen, even within the esports bubble years of the late 2010s.
Whereas some communities have boycotted the event, others have been glad to lean on the publicity and cash at a time when professional gaming is struggling. A documentary selling the 2025 EWC was launched on Amazon earlier this year, however the model streaming in Saudi Arabia stripped out gamers speaking about LGTBQ+ points and considerations.
“We are disappointed to learn, upon your request for comment, that the Saudi broadcast of Esports World Cup: Level Up has been altered to remove images of our Pride jersey, as well as important parts of our Co-CEO Steve Arhancet’s story as a gay man in esports,” Workforce Liquid, which fields gamers in League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, and extra, wrote on the time.
Saudi Arabia’s funding fund remains to be solely a minority investor in Evo, and it’s unclear how the change in possession will affect the occasion shifting ahead. On the very least, it’s laborious to see Saudi Arabia not being added to the checklist of nations that at the moment host annual Evo tournaments. How professional gamers reply additionally stays to be seen.
Combating video games have all the time been distinctive inside esports. With a legacy that dates again to the early arcade days and communities constructed on native, grassroots connections reasonably than company branding workouts, Evo has all the time had a particular place inside aggressive gaming. It’s now one which should confront the ethical calculus of co-owners at the moment accused, amongst different issues, of a recent surge in extra-judicial executions.
