GeoGuessr Withdraws from Saudi Esports World Cup After Backlash

GeoGuessr has withdrawn from the Esports World Cup after players and map creators criticized the team for participating in the controversially Saudi Arabia-hosted event scheduled for later this summer.

GeoGuessr is a highly successful geography game with 85 million users, where players are placed in random global locations and must deduce their whereabouts. A vast array of developer and community-made customization options allow players to tailor their experience—choosing opponents, map types, urban or rural settings, specific geographic regions, and movement controls like pan, zoom, or the restricted "no move, pan, or zoom" (NMPZ) mode. It also features a rich selection of fantastic community-created custom maps, cementing its status as an esports staple.

However, yesterday (May 22), Zemmip—representing "creators of a considerable share of GeoGuessr's most popular maps"—staged a "blackout," making its maps unplayable in protest of the "company's decision to host a World Championship wildcard tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh."

"Groups targeted by the government include women, LGBTQ individuals, apostates and atheists, political dissenters, migrant workers under the Kafala system, religious minorities, and many others," Zemmip stated on the GeoGuessr subreddit. "The oppression of these groups is extensive and pervasive. Members face routine discrimination, imprisonment, torture, and even public executions. These severe human rights abuses are well-documented and undeniable.

"By taking part in the EWC, GeoGuessr is contributing to a sportswashing agenda designed to divert attention from Saudi Arabia's human rights violations," the statement added.

The blackout involved dozens of creators and their maps, "including a supermajority of the most popular competitively relevant world maps." Organizers declared the blackout would persist until "GeoGuessr cancels its wildcard event in Saudi Arabia and commits to not hosting any events there as long as the oppressive regime continues."

"You don't play games with human rights," the statement concluded.

After numerous messages appeared on the subreddit and social media from confused fans asking why their maps were blacked out, GeoGuessr issued a statement early this morning (May 22), confirming it had heard the community's concerns and would withdraw from the event.

"We will not participate in the EWC," read the statement from CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell. "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 promote GeoGuessr’s core mission of letting everyone Explore the World. Since Erland, Anton, and I founded GeoGuessr in 2013, we’ve always aimed 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," the statement continued. "So, when you tell us we’ve made a mistake, we take it seriously. That’s why we’ve decided to withdraw from the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. We will provide information on how the wildcards will be redistributed as soon as possible. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your thoughts."

The top reply on the GeoGuessr subreddit currently states: "Now that's a 5K"—referring to the highest possible score for pinpointing an exact location in the game.

"The community came together, they fought for what they wanted, and they achieved it," added another.

IGN has requested comment from the Esports World Cup.

Numerous games and publishers are still scheduled to participate in the July event, including Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege, among many others.

GeoGuessr launched on Steam last week, initially debuting as the second-worst-rated game of all time (though it has since improved to the seventh-worst-rated on the platform). Fans criticized the ostensibly free-to-play title for missing features, such as the inability to play solo even for practice. The free amateur mode appears to be populated by bots rather than real players. Additionally, and perhaps most surprisingly, even paying to unlock features in the browser version does not transfer to Steam.