GeoGuessr Withdraws from Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia Amid Backlash

GeoGuessr has withdrawn from the Esports World Cup following a backlash from players and map creators who criticized the company's decision to participate in the event hosted by Saudi Arabia this summer. The popular geography game, with 85 million users, allows players to be dropped into random locations worldwide and guess their whereabouts. It offers extensive customization options, enabling players to choose their opponents, select specific maps, decide on urban or rural settings, restrict spawns to certain regions, and toggle movement, panning, or zooming capabilities. The game also features a wide array of community-created custom maps and has been a staple in the esports scene.

On May 22, Zemmip, representing creators of many of GeoGuessr's most popular maps, initiated a "blackout" by making their maps unplayable. This protest was in response to GeoGuessr's plan to host a World Championship wildcard tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. Zemmip highlighted the severe human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, targeting groups such as women, the LGBTQ community, apostates, atheists, political dissenters, migrant workers under the Kafala system, and religious minorities. These groups face discrimination, imprisonment, torture, and even public executions. Zemmip accused GeoGuessr of contributing to Saudi Arabia's sportswashing agenda, which aims to distract from these human rights abuses.

The blackout involved numerous creators and their maps, including most of the top competitive world maps. The protest would persist until GeoGuessr canceled its event in Saudi Arabia and committed to not hosting any events there while the oppressive regime continues. "You don't play games with human rights," the statement concluded.

After receiving numerous inquiries from confused fans on the subreddit and social media about the blacked-out maps, GeoGuessr issued a statement on May 22. CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell announced the company's withdrawal from the Esports World Cup. He explained that the initial decision to participate was made with the intention of engaging with the Middle Eastern community and spreading GeoGuessr's mission of exploring the world. Since its founding in 2013, GeoGuessr has aimed to be a community-first game, with its Stockholm office staffed by passionate fans dedicated to building something meaningful for the community.

Antell acknowledged that the community's reaction made it clear that participating in the Esports World Cup did not align with GeoGuessr's values. He emphasized the company's responsiveness to community feedback, stating, "That’s why we’ve made the decision to withdraw from participating in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. We will come back with information on how the wildcards will be distributed as soon as possible. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your thoughts."

On the GeoGuessr subreddit, the top reply praised the community's efforts, likening the outcome to achieving a perfect 5K score in the game. Another comment celebrated the community's unity and success in achieving their goal.

IGN has reached out to the Esports World Cup for comment. Despite GeoGuessr's withdrawal, numerous other games and publishers, including Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege, among others, will still participate in the event in July.

GeoGuessr recently launched on Steam, initially debuting as the second-worst-rated game due to missing features in its free-to-play version. Players were unable to play alone for practice, and the free amateur mode appeared to be populated by bots rather than real players. Additionally, features unlocked on the browser version did not transfer to Steam, causing further dissatisfaction among fans.