RENNSPORT is the first title from a German publisher to be confirmed for the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia. The new competition thus increases its discipline portfolio to currently 18 games
“We are pleased to announce that we will be represented at this year’s Esports World Cup,” the official RENNSPORT account announced via X on Wednesday. The organizers of the competition themselves had already let the cat out of the bag: “Munich, start the engines! RENNSPORT is heading to the Esports World Cup at high speed.” The SimRacing title is the first video game from a German publisher to be announced for the tournament in Riyadh.
RENNSPORT is still in the beta phase, but eSports competitions have already taken place as part of the ESL R1. The ESL may also have played a role in mediating between the Esports World Cup and the Munich-based creators of the racing simulation. After all, the organizer has been part of the ESL FACEIT Group since 2022 and has also belonged to the Savvy Games Group since then. This in turn is part of the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Riot Games confirms LoL for Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s ever-increasing involvement in eSports and gaming is part of its Vision 2030, which aims to reduce its dependence on oil. However, the desert state has also been accused of “eSportswashing” in this context. According to the accusation, the kingdom wants to distract attention from the internationally much-criticized human rights situation in the country by investing in the sector in question.
A few days before the RENNSPORT announcement, it was revealed that League of Legends would also be played at the Esports World Cup in summer 2024. Rumors about this had been persistent since January, and Riot Games confirmed them at Easter. The World Cup is thus expanding its discipline portfolio to currently 18 titles. These include, for example, Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Rocket League, Starcraft 2, Teamfight Tactics and EA SPORTS FC 24.