Organizers of the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) issued a lengthy statement on Monday detailing future plans for the league and to assure its community that there won’t be any changes despite it being fully owned by RTS, a company that it owned and operated by Qiddiya City, a mega city project owned by the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
First Evo said in its statement that it has always put its community first, and that won’t change despite its change in ownership.
“What Evo’s ownership has always known, from day one to today, is that Community is the root of competitive fighting games. Community is the backbone of Evo’s events. It is where Evo’s future comes from, and where we are committing our new resources.”
Evo went on to say that later this year, it will be “dedicating significant resources” and “working together with the community, on the ground level, to elevate it and help it grow.” They will use these resources to help local communities tackle challenges such as a lack of equipment or funding to create local and regional events that tie into the Evo ecosystem.
Evo also emphasized that its legacy events, brand values, formats, and other aspects will not be changing despite its new ownership situation:
“None of our legacy events in the US, Japan, France, or announced events such as Singapore, are changing in terms of policies, brand values, level of investment, format, or expectations. Our goal is quite the opposite, to bring these experiences to more players worldwide and continue to welcome the community from all countries and backgrounds. Beginning in 2027, Evo will expand into new destinations as part of our long-term commitment to bringing fighting game players together.”
Starting in 2027, Evo will have events in new locations, including Brazil, Morocco, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and China. Details on these new global events will be released at a later date.
Finally, Evo says that it will launch a new multi-title championship in 2027 called the Fighting Game World Championship, that will test the prowess of challengers across the most popular fighting games in the ecosystem. Evo says that it will work with its publisher partners to figure out which games will ultimately be used.
“We will be working closely with our publisher partners to determine which titles will be included in this format and will have more information for you later this year. Additionally, we will be working with the community closely to help identify what modern day titles and legacy masterpieces should represent the breadth of fighting games in this new tournament – with a focus on competitive; not entertainment selections.
This new Fighting Game World Championship will be hosted in Evo-founding countries such as the United States and Japan.
It is unclear how the FGC at large will receive this message from Evo, given that its new owner is Qiddiya City-owned RTS.
In case you are not familiar with Qiddiya, it is a mega-city project backed by the Saudi Arabian government-owned sovereign wealth fund, the PIF. Qiddiya’s goal is to become the central location for companies that want to set up shop and do business in Saudi Arabia, such as game developers, esports organizations, tournament organizers, and tech companies. The project is also home to a number of tourist attractions, including theme parks, race tracks, golf courses, sporting and esports venues, concert halls, hotels and restaurants, and more.
Projects backed by the Saudi government are often accused of being used for “sports washing,” or as a cover for the government to gloss over its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, its mistreatment (and executions of) journalists, 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.