Saudi Crown Prince declared the start of Esports World Cup set to debut in the summer of 2024

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the start of the Esports World Cup, an annual mega-event that would make its debut in the summer of 2024, during "The New Global Sport Conference" in Riyadh. As a major step towards the Kingdom's goal of diversifying its economy and advancing the travel and entertainment industries, the grand event seeks to establish Saudi Arabia as the leading worldwide centre for gaming and esports.

Together with launching the Esports World Cup, Prince Mohammed bin Salman also announced the Esports World Cup Foundation, a nonprofit group committed to promoting cooperation among esports participants and guaranteeing the industry's long-term viability. The declaration represents a turning point in Saudi Arabia's ascent to prominence in global gaming and athletic events.

The Crown Prince underlined the significance of the competition in achieving the goals of Vision 2030, pointing to the Esports World Cup as a vital driver of employment growth, economic diversification, and top-notch entertainment. According to him, the occasion represents the "natural next step" in Saudi Arabia's development as a major player in the global gaming market, providing an unmatched esports experience that surpasses expectations in the sector. Leveraging the achievements of regional esports competitions such as GAMERS8, the Esports World Cup is in line with Saudi Arabia's continuous endeavours to develop and grow the esports industry.

With the biggest prize fund in esports history and a wide range of well-known titles, the competition will provide a distinctive cross-game competition style to crown the ultimate Esports World Cup Champion.

In addition, the Esports World Cup seeks to promote the National Gaming and Esports Strategy by creating a vibrant environment for players, clubs, and the esports industry as a whole. With the tournament, this strategy—which aims to contribute more than SR50 billion to the Kingdom's GDP and create 39,000 new employment by 2030—should pick up steam.

The summer extravaganza offers a full entertainment experience in addition to competition. Alongside the Esports World Cup, Riyadh will host a number of events and activities that will transform the city into a gaming hub and draw tourists. This calculated action presents a huge potential for Saudi tourism by attempting to counteract the typical summertime fall in hotel occupancy rates, tourism expenditure, restaurant & cafe spending, and consumer purchasing power.

The gaming community is excited to see how this ambitious project will change the global esports scene as the Esports World Cup Foundation gets ready to provide more information in the upcoming year.