GeoGuessr exits Saudi event following backlash from community.

GeoGuessr has reversed its participation in the Esports World Cup following a significant backlash from its players and map creators, who criticized the company for taking part in an event controversially hosted by Saudi Arabia later this summer.

GeoGuessr is a highly popular geography-based game that challenges players to determine their location after being randomly placed somewhere in the world. The game offers extensive customization developed by both the official team and the community, allowing players to select opponents, map types, and various settings — such as urban or rural environments, specific geographic restrictions, movement controls (including the option for NMPZ — no moving, panning, or zooming), and a wide array of unique community-created maps. The game has maintained a strong presence in the esports community for years.

On May 22, Zemmip — acting on behalf of the developers behind many of GeoGuessr's most-played maps — organized a "blackout," disabling a number of custom maps in protest of the "company’s decision to host a World Championship wildcard tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh."

"Government targets have included women, LGBTQ individuals, apostates, atheists, political opponents, migrant workers under the Kafala system, religious minorities, and various other marginalized groups," Zemmip stated on the GeoGuessr subreddit. "The oppression these groups face is systematic and widespread. Members are frequently subjected to discrimination, incarceration, torture, and in some cases, public execution. These severe human rights abuses are thoroughly documented and undeniable.

"By choosing to compete in the EWC, GeoGuessr is contributing to a sportswashing agenda aimed at diverting attention from Saudi Arabia’s human rights record," the statement continued.

The blackout was supported by dozens of creators and affected "a large majority of the most popular and competitively significant world maps." Organizers confirmed the protest would continue unless "GeoGuessr cancels its Saudi wildcard event and commits to avoiding events there as long as the country’s oppressive policies remain in place."

"You don’t play games with human rights," the statement concluded.

As numerous confused players began inquiring on social media and the subreddit about the unavailable maps, GeoGuessr issued a formal response on the morning of May 22, announcing its decision to pull out of the event after hearing community concerns.

"We will not take part in the EWC," read the official statement from CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell. "Over recent days, I have followed the reactions to our participation in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.

"Our initial motivation for joining was well-intentioned: to strengthen connections with our Middle Eastern audience and advance GeoGuessr’s mission of enabling global exploration. Since founding GeoGuessr in 2013 with Erland and Anton, our guiding principle has been to put our community first. Everyone at our Stockholm office is a dedicated GeoGuessr enthusiast, working hard to build something meaningful — with you and for you.

"However, our community has made it clear that this move conflicts with the values GeoGuessr represents," the statement continued. "So when you tell us we've made a mistake, we listen carefully. That’s why we’ve decided to withdraw from the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. We will share updated details about the distribution of wildcard slots as soon as possible. We appreciate everyone who voiced their perspective."

The top-voted comment on the GeoGuessr subreddit currently says: "Now that’s a 5K" — referring to the game’s highest possible score for pinpointing a location with exact precision.

"The community united, stood up for its principles, and achieved its goal," wrote another user.

IGN has reached out to the Esports World Cup organizers for their response.

The event in July will still feature numerous games and publishers, such as Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege, among several others.

GeoGuessr recently launched on Steam, where it initially earned a place as the platform’s second-worst rated game of all time (its standing has since improved slightly to the seventh-worst). Players expressed disappointment with missing features in the free-to-play version, including the inability to play solo, even for practice. The free amateur tier appears to be populated with bots instead of human players. Notably, even subscription upgrades on the browser edition do not transfer to the Steam version.