IOC ends cooperation with Esports World Cup Foundation for Olympic Esports Games

After initially postponing the Olympic Esports Games (OEG) to 2027, the International Olympic Commitee (IOC) has officially terminated the cooperation with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), meaning that the first-ever Esports Olympic won’t be hosted in two years’ time.

The statement by the IOC on the Olympic Esports Games

Despite the attempt to figure out a solution to make the OEG a reality, the involved parties couldn’t find a common ground on some key points. According to a report by The Esports Advocate, one of the main issues revolved around the IOC Charter, which generally requires game organizers to work with relevant stakeholder/federations.

The Saudi, however, were not convinced by the involvement of the International Esports Federation (IESF) and the Global Esports Federation (GEF), considering both organizations have been struggling financially, and that these twwo didn’t have the intellectual property, which is in the hands of the game publishers.

Despite the Saudi putting a proposal to create a federation of their own, which was initially agreed by the former IOC president Thomas Bach, was later rejected by newly-sworn President Kirsty Coventry, who believes it would not provide a democratic process and would make ultimately give control to the Saudi government.

“The IOC, for its part, will develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games, taking the feedback from the “Pause and Reflect” process into account, and pursue a new partnership model,” said the IOC in their official statement.

The Saudis will bring their own Nation-based competition in 2026

There was already a clear sign by the Esports World Cup Foundation early this year, when the tournament organizer announced their intent to bring the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) to Riyadh at the end of the next year. While the competition was never considered a direct replacement to the OEG, the ENC will feature several game titles and nations from all around the world.