IOC ends cooperation with Saudi Arabia on the Olympic Esports Games

Michael Hassall Published October 30, 2025

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today announced that it has ended cooperation with Saudi Arabia on the Olympic Esports Games, prematurely ending the 12-year deal before it had even begun.

In a statement released on Oct. 30, The IOC said it and Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee had “mutually agreed that they will end their cooperation on the Olympic Esports Games.”

Image Credit: IOC

IOC ends partnership with Saudi Arabia for Olympic Esports Games

Continuing with their statement, the IOC said it was time to take the “Pause and Reflect” process into account.

Saudi Arabia and the IOC had previously agreed to a 12-year partnership in July 2024 that would see the Olympic Esports games take place “regularly” over the next decade. Then, in February 2025, the IOC announced that the first edition of the Olympic Esports Games would be held in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

As part of the event and deal, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal was appointed co-chair of a multi organizational committee.

Then in August 2025, The Esports World Cup Foundation, a non-profit funded by the Saudi government, announced the Esports Nations Cup, a recurring national team competition in esports. This was seen by some as a rival to the Olympic Esports Games.

Image Credit: Esports World Cup Foundation.

However, with the announcement today of the end of the 12-year partnership, the future of that the Saudi Arabian Olympic Esports event, the Esports Nations Cup, and other events, seems to be in doubt.

While the IOC statement put to bed ideas of a Saudi Arabian games, it also stated that the objective was still “having the inaugural Games as soon as possible.”

That point alone has led some to hypothesize that Singapore could be the replacement destination for the games. The Olympic Esports Games committee was also chaired by Singapore’s Ser Miang Ng, an IOC Member and advocate of esports in the country. In 2023, Singapore hosted the Olympic Esports Series, a trial event hosted under the IOC banner.

Whatever the case, this announcement is a blow to Saudi Arabian ambitions in esports, gaming, and The Olympics. Some observers had pointed to the KSA’s gaming and esports acquisitions over the past several years as a part of a wider attempt to position themselves as hosts of a future edition of The Summer Olympic Games

The KSA hosts The Esports World Cup annually, a multi-million dollar event with dozens of titles represented. That event, scheduled to continue through 2026 and beyond, has faced allegations of sports washing, due to the KSA’s documented history of human rights abuses. In November 2026, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will host the inaugural Esports Nations Cup.

Featured Image Credit: IOC