The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) announced Tuesday that it has signed a three-year renewal and expansion of its partnership with Aramco for the Esports World Cup (EWC).
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Aramco is owned by the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which also provides funding to the Esports World Cup Foundation through an annual sports grant (though the exact amount of that funding has never been disclosed publicly).
Separately,the EWFC announced that it has also renewed its deal with state-owned telecommunications company stc Group for the Esports World Cup.
For the 2025 Esports World Cup, Aramco will have a larger presence than last year, serving as a title partner and sponsoring the Aramco SIM Arena. Attendees will be able to engage in “new and interactive motorsports activities at the Aramco SIM Arena,” which promises the “thrill of an F1 Grand Prix race to Riyadh,” according to a release.
In addition, the 2025 Aramco Esports Championship will run across two seasons during the seven-week competition, with weekly online races leading to an in-person finale at the Aramco SIM Arena. The top 10 teams will ultimately advance to season finals for a chance to attend a special driver development program at the Aston Martin Esports HQ at Silverstone.
The Aramco Power Rankings will also be introduced: this new segment will carry the Aramco branding and highlight the top players ahead of the first match of each game title that will be part of the seven week event.
EWCF also announced that telecommunications company stc Group returns to provide broadband and 5G mobile technology and connectivity to participants and attendees during the event. Financial terms and duration of this renewed partnership were not revealed at the time of this writing.
If you are not familiar with it, the Esports World Cup is a seven week, multi-title competition featuring an overall prize pool of more than $70 million USD, funded by a grant from the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund. The event is operated in cooperation with ESL FACEIT Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi government-owned gaming and esports company Savvy Games Group.
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government such as Esports World Cup are criticized for helping the government engage in “sports washing,” or using various forms of entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.