‘Evo is dead’: Major fighting game tournament is now wholly owned by Saudi megaproject Qiddiya, promises ‘traditions, values, and identity will remain unchanged’

The fighting game community has always been an inherently grassroots scene, which means more than a few eyebrows were raised last year when Saudi Arabian-owned megacity project Qiddiya acquired Evo co-owner RTS.

It was still sharing the load alongside Indian esports org NODWIN—which had relieved Sony of its co-ownership in September last year—but that is no longer the case. Evo is now wholly owned by Qiddiya, the tournament promising that its “traditions, values, and identity will remain unchanged.” Yuh-huh.

In a blog post to Evo’s website (thanks Eurogamer), it says that it still intends to run its three major tournaments this year—Evo Japan in May, the main event in America this June, and newest addition Evo France in October.

“Under RTS ownership, Evo’s traditions, values, and identity will remain unchanged, with a continued focus on serving players, fans, and publishers at every level of the industry,” the post reads. “Key leadership will remain in place, ensuring long-term stability, including Stuart Saw in his role as Chief Executive Officer at RTS.”

The post says that Qiddiya’s ownership “closer aligns Evo” with its “broader vision for gaming and esports,” including its plans to, erm, build a mega esports district with four arenas. I can only assume it folds in nicely with Riyadh’s Esports World Cup—another sportswashing attempt from Saudi, one which has had frustrating knock-on effects to grassroots events that have been well established for years at this point.

The Qiddiya City-owned RTS has taken full ownership of the Evolution Championship Series from r/Fighters

I also can’t help but wonder what will happen when the Saudi government gives up on the FGC—even if it doesn’t shelve its esports pursuit as a whole, fighting games are significantly less lucrative than the likes of League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Dota 2. I don’t love the thought of megaprojects muscling in on a very community-driven space as is, but I dislike the thought of it being promptly gutted and tossed to the wayside even more.

A post on Reddit announcing the new ownership has been met with plenty of displeasure. “Return to grassroots,” one commenter wrote. “And this, everybody, is why supporting grassroots locals should still be the priority over pushing big tentpole tournaments,” another wrote while one person simply replied: “Evo is dead. Go to your locals.”

Thankfully, the FGC does not live or die at the hands of Evo. There are a bunch of other genuinely fantastic majors that you can check out, including: