ESL FACEIT Group Signs Five-Year Partnership With Qiddiya City

ESL FACEIT Group partners with Qiddiya City for five years.

International tournament organizer ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) and Qiddiya City announced Monday a five year partnership. Given that both entities are directly tied to the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, through various subsidiaries, it is difficult to determine what the financial terms of this deal—which were not disclosed publicly—might be.

In a release, EFG said that the five year agreement will see the company leverage its “network of 225 million gamers and extensive experience,” as well as its connections to “professional players, developers, game publishers, and fans” to help design the 500,000-square-meter, city project in Saudi Arabia.  

Qiddiya City and EFG will officially launch this strategic partnership during the Counter-Strike 2 tournament IEM Chengdu from April 12-14, in Chengdu, China. 

“Qiddiya is a city built for and inspired by the global esports and gaming community in one of the industry’s fastest-growing markets,” said ESL FACEIT Group co-CEO Craig Levine, in a release. “As a pioneering global destination for gaming and esports, Qiddiya City will grow and develop in collaboration with the community, an important cornerstone for a more sustainable future. We’re confident and honored that EFG’s decades of experience will create value for the city’s scalable, fan-first vision.”

EFG will also offer “exclusive access to new developments” in the city district during events and competitions including DreamHack festivals, ESL and IEM competitions, and on EFG’s digital esports platform, FACEIT, which encompasses professional and amateur circuits across ESL Counter-Strike Pro Tour, ESL Challenger, ESL Impact, ESL Dota 2 Pro Tour, DreamHack festivals, and more. 

EFG said that this partnership is part of “EFG and Qiddiya’s joint commitment to support the sustainable growth of the esports industry through building pipelines of multigenerational fandom in the world’s most promising markets, notably the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.”

“As a global Capital of Play, Qiddiya City will host a critical component of Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, and help power the next generation of esports. Our partnership with ESL FACEIT Group ensures that players, fans, and creators worldwide will play a central role in building this unprecedented hub of entertainment and innovation,” said Qiddiya Investment Company Managing Director Abdullah Aldawood, in a release. “We will be setting a new benchmark for fan experiences in parallel with athlete and talent development.”

In case you are not familiar with the Qiddiya City project, it is a tourist destination and entertainment hub being developed with the backing of the Saudi government. In addition to offering tourist attractions such as areas for esports competitions and gaming festivals, Qiddiya is developing theme parks with Six Flags and other international entities, hotels and resorts, areas for music concerts and festivals, and a business district dedicated to serving as a home to esports organizations, game developers and publishers, and other businesses who want to have headquarters in the region. The project is part of the Saudi Government’s plan—Vision 2023—to move away from a reliance on revenue generated from oil to other sectors such as entertainment and tourism.

EFG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, which is 100% owned and operated by the Saudi Arabian government, and Saudi Arabia’s ruler, HRH Crown Prince MBS is the company’s Chairman of the Board. EFG operates a number of esports and gaming festival companies including ESL, FACEIT, and DreamHack.