GeoGuessr Mapmakers Disable Popular Maps in Protest of Esports World Cup Tournament

A major controversy has erupted in the GeoGuessr competitive scene following the announcement that the game will be featured in the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC), with a high-stakes Last Chance Wildcard Tournament scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this July. In an act of protest, a coalition of the game’s most influential community creators has blacked out some of the most popular maps, effectively disabling large swaths of the game’s competitive infrastructure.

GeoGuessr map creators protest after the game was included in the EWC

The group, composed of creators behind GeoGuessr’s most played and competitively important maps, released a joint public statement explaining their decision to take action. “We, the creators of a considerable share of GeoGuessr’s most popular maps, have decided to make our maps unplayable in protest of game publisher GeoGuessr AB’s decision to host a World Championship wildcard tourney at the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh,” the statement begins.

The GeoGuessr Last Chance Wildcard Tournament was announced last week by GeoGuessr AB as part of the Esports World Cup Festival, which is scheduled for July 21-27. The tournament features a $20,000 prize pool and was set to have the final two qualifiers for the GeoGuessr World Championship, which will take place in Copenhagen in late August. By removing access to a “supermajority of the most popular competitively relevant world maps,” the protestors have crippled the infrastructure used for training and competing.

Accusations of Sportswashing

The heart of the protest lies in strong opposition to the Saudi government’s involvement in international sporting and entertainment events. The mapmakers accuse the Esports World Cup of being a vehicle for sportswashing — using high-profile events to improve the global image of a regime widely criticized for its human rights violations. “The EWC is a sportswashing tool used by the government of Saudi Arabia to distract from and conceal its horrific human rights record,” continued the statement.

The post also highlighted the extensive persecution of vulnerable groups in the kingdom, such as women, LGBTQ people, political dissidents, atheists, migrant workers, and religious minorities, which are regularly subjected to imprisonment, torture, and in some cases, public execution.

A Direct Challenge to the Game Publisher

The community has specifically demanded that GeoGuessr AB cancel the wildcard event in Saudi Arabia and not host any events there as long as it continues its oppressive regime. “This blackout includes dozens of creators and their maps, including a supermajority of the most popular competitively relevant world maps. It will continue until we see action from GeoGuessr,” the community added.

 This protest represents a larger struggle within the esports industry, where the financial landscape has brought esports stakeholders to turn their eyes to Saudi Arabia, which has been investing heavily over the past years. Aside from the Esports World Cup, the government’s Public Investment Fund has funded investment companies like Savvy Games Group, which has, in turn, poured money into tournament organizers such as ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) and Hero Esports. In an era of centralized publishers, GeoGuessr is one of the few games that is deeply community-driven. And it has now taken a clear stance.

GeoGuessr confirms the withdrawal of the competition from EWC

On the early morning of May 22, the CEO and co-founder, Daniel Antell, confirmed that the game would no longer take part in the EWC: “I’ve seen your reactions over the past few days regarding our decision to participate in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. When we made that decision, it was with positive intentions. To engage with our community in the Middle East and to spread GeoGuessr’s core mission of letting everyone explore the World,” he said through the game’s official X account.

Antell also added that they will update the community on how the wildcards will be distributed in place of the tournament. “Since Erland, Anton, and I founded GeoGuessr in 2013, we’ve always strived to be a community-first game. Everyone here at the Stockholm office is a passionate GeoGuessr fan, doing our best to build something meaningful, with you and for you. That said, you – our community – have made it clear that this decision does not align with what GeoGuessr stands for,” he added.

Update as of May 22, 2025, to reflect the developments of the story.