Games

GeoGuessr withdraws event from Esports World Cup after backlash

BBG News

The EWC Geoguessr event was announced just last week.

GeoGuessr has cancelled its planned participation in the Esports World Cup this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – an event that was only recently announced by them.

The announcement faced significant opposition, leading to many maps being set as private, as well as prominent community members expressing their concerns.

Consequently, GeoGuessr has officially changed its plans and announced that the event will no longer occur as initially stated.

Major backlash forces GeoGuessr to withdraw from Esports World Cup

On May 16, the announcement of the event was labeled as a significant achievement in the gaming competition world, being comparable to legendary games and providing fresh chances to engage both players and spectators globally. Yet, the GeoGuessr community expressed strong opposition towards this particular event.

In the game, all primary global maps were made unavailable as a form of protest, accompanied by an influx of messages on the official Discord channel urging for the cancellation of the Riyadh event.

As an enthusiast, I was dismayed to discover that certain maps utilized in official GeoGussr tournament games had been made private. It’s frustrating to see these creators expressing their discontent publicly, as I share their passion for the game and appreciate their hard work on the maps.

GeoGuessr withdrawal announced via statement

Under the weight of community expectations, GeoGuessr felt compelled to act promptly. On May 22nd, they released a statement announcing the cancellation of the planned event.

Hi everyone,

Over the past few days, I’ve noticed your feedback about our participation in the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh. When we decided to join this event, it was with good intentions. Our aim was to connect with our community based in the Middle East and further GeoGuessr’s primary mission: encouraging everyone to discover and explore the world.

Ever since Erland, Anton, and I started building GeoGuessr back in 2013, we’ve aimed to create a game that thrives on community spirit. Here at our office in Stockholm, we’re all passionate fans of the game, tirelessly working to construct something significant, with you in mind. However, it seems that this decision doesn’t resonate with what GeoGuessr represents for you, our cherished community.

We give significant weight to your feedback that we’re on the wrong track, which is why we chose to step back from the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.

As an enthusiast, I’m excited to share that we’re working diligently to provide details about the distribution of wildcards. Rest assured, you’ll hear from us as soon as we have solid information. Thanks for voicing your opinions and keeping the conversation going!

/Daniel

CEO & co-founder Daniel on X

The announcement, as expected, was met with mostly positive reaction.

In certain gaming communities within the Esports sphere, responses to the World Cup have varied. However, the reaction from the GeoGuessr community has been particularly strong and unified – one of the most pronounced yet observed. At this point, there’s no formal response regarding withdrawals from the EWC.

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2025-05-22 11:40

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