EA Sports FC 24 joins the Esports World Cup

EA Sports FC 24 (EA FC 24) has been announced as the latest game to join the inaugural edition of the Esports World Cup, set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this summer.

Game developer EA Sports has confirmed in a release that DreamHack events will serve as qualifiers for the Esports World Cup, with further information to be shared by esports tournament conglomerate ESL FACEIT Group at a later date.

EA Sports FC is the latest football simulation game in the franchise formerly known as FIFA. The game, released in 2023, has its own esports scene with national leagues in many markets, as well as a world championship and other events.

Although the game will be a part of the Esports World Cup, the developers pointed out that the event will be separate from the game’s main esports circuit. The Esports World Cup will serve as a standalone event during the summer, with its own qualifiers and prize pool.

EA Sports also announced that the path to the Esports World Cup will start at DreamHack, a series of gaming events and festivals organised by Savvy Games Group-owned ESL FACEIT Group. EA FC tournaments will be hosted during the DreamHack Dallas and DreamHack Summer events, with the best-performing players going on to compete at the Esports World Cup.

ESL FACEIT Group, the owners of DreamHack, will share further information about the tournaments, prize pools and format details in the near future. In addition, the Esports World Cup Foundation will likely announce details about the prize pool and number of participating players at the Esports World Cup.

The Esports World Cup will be one of the largest gaming and esports events to ever take place, and will replace the Gamers8 festival this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A large number of tournaments have been announced already, including the likes of StarCraft 2, Dota 2, CS2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings and Overwatch 2.

The launch of the Esports World Cup, an event backed by the Saudi Arabian government, has sparked criticisms since its announcement last year with sections of the esports community highlighting that ‘esportswashing‘ could be being used to mask the country’s current human rights record.