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The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWC), announced this week the first five games to be included in the inaugural Esports World Cup, which will take place this summer in Riyadh. Honor of Kings is now part of the Summer 2024 Program, along with Counter-Strike, Dota, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and StarCraft II. This highlights the EWC mission to bring together diverse gaming communities in a truly international event.
Esports World Cup Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert said, “With its mix of legendary PC games and the largest mobile esports titles, Esports World Cup captures both the past and the future of esports.” “StarCraft II is a great title for the Esports World Cup. Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Honor of Kings also make a strong case.” We are building the World Cup around the classic games that defined the industry and the most popular mobile titles. The World Cup is designed to connect and elevate the clubs, players and fans of esports.
Three games have a rich history that has been central to the global popularity of esports. StarCraft, a franchise that was a pioneer in the esports industry during its early years, has been a major influence on the development of the ecosystem. Titles such as Dota continue to break records for viewership and prize pools over decades of competition. Counter-Strike 2 is a new chapter in the history of a legendary esports game, which continues to be one of the world’s most popular esports 25 years after its release.
Mobile games such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang are laying the foundations for a new frontier in esports, one that relies on the accessibility and the ability to host top-tier tournaments anywhere there is a 5G connection. Mobile Legends Bang Bang, which is ranked among the top esports by peak viewers, offers a great opportunity to reach a large, diverse group of esports enthusiasts.
The Esports World Cup has confirmed the inclusion of Honor of Kings as the most played mobile MOBA. Honor of Kings announced a commitment of $15 million to develop the international esports eco-system for its game. The esports arena will be more competitive than ever in 2024 with over 1,000 events taking place across the globe to support the full launch of the game internationally later this year.
Esports World Cup will bring together fans, platforms and genres for the biggest celebration ever of gaming as a sport. The tournament, along with initiatives like the EWC Foundation Club Program announced earlier this week, will foster cross-game competitiveness, connect the audience to their favourite titles and provide new opportunities for fandom. It will also facilitate world-class competitions in dozens titles.
Social media videos capturing not only the unique IP of participating publishers, but also their history in esports were used to introduce them. The campaign highlights esports’ globalization and how these regions will come together with their favorite games for the Esports World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in summer 2024. To date, the full list of cities and reveals that have been made in CGI includes:
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Shanghai, China)
Dota 2, Seattle, Washington, USA
StarCraft II Seoul, South Korea
Counter-Strike 2 (Cologne, Germany)
Honor of Kings (Shenzhen)
Soon, we will announce more titles.
