Level Infinite and the Esports World Cup Foundation announced that the popular mobile battle royale game PUBG Mobile will return as a competitive title in the 2025 Esports World Cup, the eight-week competitive events hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
PUBG Mobile joins other titles officially confirmed for the 2025 Esports World Cup including EA’s PC-based battle royale game Apex Legends, Ubisoft’s tactical team-based shooter Rainbow Six Siege, Valve’s MOBA Dota 2, Capcom’s Street Fighter 6, SEA LTD’s popular PC and mobile battle royal game Free Fire, Tencent’s MOBA Honor of Kings, Valve’s tactical team-based shooter Counter-Strike 2, and Activision Blizzard’s first-person shooters Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty Warzone.
Level Infinite is a global gaming brand of Chinese Conglomerate Tencent Holdings, while The Esports World Cup Foundation is funded by a grant from the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.
During the 2025 Esports World Cup competition, 28 teams competed for a chunk of a $3M USD total prize pool, with Alpha7 taking home the championship trophy and a lion’s share of that prize money.
The Esports World Cup Foundation describes itself as a non-profit that is funded by a sports grant from the Saudi Government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. The competition is facilitated through its close working relationships and ties to government-owned entities such as the Saudi Esports Federation, Savvy Games Group, and its subsidiary ESL FACEIT Group (which facilitated many aspects of the eight-week event last year).
ESL FACEIT Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savvy Games Group—which in turn is owned by the PIF and led by Chairman of the board and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler HRH Crown Prince MBS. EFG is home to tournament organizer ESL, Esports Engine, competition platform FACEIT, and esports and gaming festival company DreamHack.