GeoGuessr Withdraws from Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia Amid Backlash

GeoGuessr has withdrawn from the Esports World Cup following significant backlash from players and map creators regarding the event's controversial hosting in Saudi Arabia this summer.

GeoGuessr, a highly popular geography game with 85 million users, challenges players to identify their location after being virtually dropped into random spots around the globe. The game's appeal lies in its extensive customization options, allowing players to choose their opponents, select specific maps, decide on urban or rural settings, restrict spawns to certain regions, and toggle functionalities like moving, panning, or zooming. These features, along with a rich array of community-created custom maps, have cemented GeoGuessr's status as a beloved esports title.

However, tensions arose when Zemmip, representing a significant number of creators behind GeoGuessr's most popular maps, initiated a "blackout" on May 22. This protest involved making their maps unplayable in response to GeoGuessr's decision to host a World Championship wildcard tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. Zemmip highlighted Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses, stating, "Groups targeted by the government include women, LGBTQ people, apostates and atheists, political dissenters, migrant workers in the Kafala system, religious minorities, and many others." They accused GeoGuessr of contributing to sportswashing, a tactic used to divert attention from human rights issues.

The blackout, supported by dozens of creators and encompassing a majority of the game's most popular competitive maps, was set to continue until GeoGuessr canceled its event in Saudi Arabia and pledged not to host future events there while the country's oppressive regime persists. The statement concluded firmly, "You don't play games with human rights."

GeoGuessr has pulled out of the Esports World Cup after a backlash.

Following the blackout and numerous queries from fans on the subreddit and social media about the map outages, GeoGuessr issued a statement on May 22. CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell announced the company's withdrawal from the event, stating, "We will not participate in the EWC." He explained that the initial decision to participate was made with the intention to engage with the Middle Eastern community and promote GeoGuessr's mission of global exploration. However, he acknowledged the community's strong opposition and affirmed GeoGuessr's commitment to its community-first ethos.

The community's response was overwhelmingly positive, with a top comment on the GeoGuessr subreddit praising the decision, saying, "Now that's a 5K," referring to the highest score achievable in the game. Another user celebrated the community's collective action, noting, "The community came together, they fought for what they wanted, and they got it done."

IGN has reached out to the Esports World Cup for comment. Despite GeoGuessr's withdrawal, numerous other games and publishers, including Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege, among others, are still set to participate in the event in July.

In other news, GeoGuessr's recent release on Steam faced significant criticism, initially debuting as the second-worst-rated game on the platform. Fans expressed frustration over missing features in the free-to-play version, such as the inability to play solo or practice, the presence of bots in amateur mode, and the lack of feature transferability from the browser version to Steam, despite payment for unlocks.