The inaugural Esports Nations Cup has been postponed from November 2026 to November 2027.
Riyadh will remain the host city for the first edition of the international tournament.
More than 100 countries and territories are already involved in the ENC ecosystem.
The inaugural nation-versus-nation esports tournament has been moved from November 2026 to November 2027.
Riyadh’s inaugural Esports Nations Cup has been postponed. The Esports Foundation has confirmed that the first edition of the international competition will now take place in November 2027, one year later than originally planned.
The tournament had been scheduled to make its debut in Riyadh from 2 to 29 November 2026, bringing national teams together for a new country-versus-country esports competition. However, following an ongoing assessment of the wider regional situation and consultation with stakeholders, organisers have decided to move the event to November 2027.
According to the Esports Foundation, the scale of the competition played an important role in the decision. More than 100 countries and territories are already involved in the Esports Nations Cup ecosystem, alongside publishers, players, National Team Partners and commercial partners.
The organisation said postponing the inaugural competition would provide greater certainty and stability for those involved. It also stressed that Saudi Arabia remains capable of hosting major sporting and entertainment events, which continue to take place as planned.
The postponement does not affect the wider development programme surrounding the tournament. Existing commitments through the ENC Development Fund will remain in place, while ecosystem programmes supporting National Team Partners will continue ahead of the rescheduled event.
Designed to complement the existing esports calendar, the Esports Nations Cup introduces a format in which players compete for their countries rather than their traditional club organisations. National teams from across the world will compete across multiple gaming titles, with qualification pathways incorporating global rankings, regional qualifiers and wildcard entries.
Publishers and video game companies involved in developing the competition include Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent and Ubisoft. The inaugural programme was previously announced as featuring 16 titles, with Chess, Dota 2, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Honor of Kings and Trackmania among those confirmed.
The Esports Foundation will now work with publishers, National Team Partners and other stakeholders to determine how the revised timeline affects qualification pathways and the wider competition calendar. Further information surrounding the November 2027 tournament will be announced in the coming weeks.
While esports fans will have to wait another year for the first Esports Nations Cup, Riyadh remains central to the tournament’s launch. The long-term ambition is to establish an international competition built around national pride, while creating new pathways for players and supporting the development of esports ecosystems around the world.
Contact: https://esportsnationscup.com