This has been a big year for fighting game tournaments. Not only did Evo 2024 (the world’s largest fighting game tournament) come to a record-breaking conclusion, we’ve also seen a boom in both the genre and the world. It feels like there’s more focus than ever on a historically niche style of play, and the high-level gaming culture that surrounds it.
However, while much of this growth and success has been harvested and seeded by grassroots tournaments and community events, the Esports World Cup is a year-round constant. The event, fully funded by the Saudi Arabian government, seems to be throwing a lot of money at any viable competitive gaming scene. These include Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6, and the tournaments attract many of the world’s top players thanks to prize pools that exceed many other established events.
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Many critics and groups have described the move as “sports-washing,” the practice of using sports (and, of course, esports) to boost a country’s reputation. This isn’t the first time Saudi Arabia, a country with a poor human rights record and poor treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community, has invested in such projects. Previously, Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in Formula 1, football, golf, and even wrestling.
For years, the fighting game community has gone out of its way to welcome people from all backgrounds by hosting open tournaments around the world. It’s a cornerstone of the culture, born from arcade culture where anyone could walk up and throw in a quarter. It’s something I believe in as truth. I’ve been to many fighting game events, big and small, from Tekken tournaments at local bars to packed convention centers, and you can see evidence of this inclusive culture, with attendees that are incredibly diverse in race, sexual orientation, and gender.
But there’s a conflict here, it seems as if the community and its culture has clashed with the business aspects of hosting a major event. It’s not just gamers flying to Saudi Arabia. This year, Esports World Cup ads were everywhere at major tournaments including Evo Japan, CEO and More Esports World Cup. Sony – one of the co-owners of Evo – is a strategic partner of the Esports World Cup. Is it any surprise that the Esports World Cup and Qiddiya – a city in Saudi Arabia that aims to become a major tech and entertainment hub for the region – had a big presence at this year’s Evo?
With Evo announcing Evo International events in Nice, France, and Singapore, the number of official Evo events around the world has grown. However, plans to host an Evo event in Qiddiya have not come to fruition, at least not yet. So, what’s going on? To find out, I sat down with Evo General Manager Rick “The Hadou” Thiher. During our conversation, I asked him about Evo’s potential presence in Saudi Arabia, his concerns about brainwashing in the sport, and the culture clash between the Saudi government and the wider FGC.
(Want to learn more about Evo’s global expansion? You can read another interview we did with Rick Thiher about the event’s world warrior ambitions here).
iGamesNews: Given the current ecosystem around competitive gaming (and not just fighting games), Saudi Arabia is currently investing a lot of money and time into different video game events. This is also true for fighting game events! Has there been any discussion about Evo playing a bigger role in Saudi Arabia?
There: So we’re committed to having global events and respectfully having conversations with potential partners around the world. We need to carefully explore all opportunities to make that happen. But since the announcement, our focus has been on the locations that we announced. There are no plans to expand the roadmap beyond that. I don’t know if we have the bandwidth or the team size to do that. So that’s what we’re doing, and we want to focus on this show first.
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iGamesNews: One of the main sponsors/partners of Evo this year was Qiddiya Esports, and several games at the show had Esports World Cup ads running. How big a role do you think this esports initiative from the Saudi government will play in the future of Evo?
There: I think Evo is open to partnerships that enrich the event experience. Qiddiya and other partners have enabled the events in Tokyo and Las Vegas to grow in size. Qiddiya in particular has introduced fan-centric experiences such as meet-and-greets, exhibitions, and viewing parties in the Legends Lounge. Given their stated desire to increase fan engagement and the level of engagement at these booths at both shows this year, I expect they will continue to invest in the community. When it comes to the future, Evo’s focus remains on creating valuable experiences for the FGC. Because our brand should be about creating and maintaining a fighting game fan base. Therefore, my sincere hope is that any emerging businesses in the FGC will be inspired to come here and participate and seize these opportunities. So far, this is how Qiddiya has presented for us at Evo this year, and again, I expect that they may do the same in the future.
iGamesNews: The Saudi Arabian government’s current intentions with regards to esports is a rather controversial issue. Many believe that it is part of a whitewashing operation in sports, as we have seen in golf, F1, football and even wrestling! Do you have any concerns about this? Do you have any concerns about the wider FGC getting involved? I know that in your previous work at Combo Breaker you created a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community who are currently expressing concerns about this.
There: I think when we make a significant investment, we have to have the hope that the investor understands and appreciates the history, community, and culture of the investment. The FGC is bigger than any one brand, event, or person, but we are united by the simple fact that the spirit of competitive fighting games lies in Anyone You can show up and compete, and Evo has proudly showcased the diversity of that truth for decades. I believe in that simple truth. So I look at this as a manifestation of hope and belief that fighting games are proving to be a way for different worlds to find connection and understanding through that truth, and look at it from that perspective.
iGamesNewsQ: So you hope that through your involvement, the cultural differences between the Western FGC and Saudi Arabia will become less important and give way to the FGC’s own culture and priorities?
There: I think if you want to be part of the culture, you need to be part of the culture. I think the potential for change is rooted in the culture, in the relationships that are the inspiration and the backbone of the culture. That should be why everyone is here.
iGamesNews: What do you think about the impact that’s already happened? We’ve seen pro players, big-name players like SonicFox, who won the Mortal Kombat title at Evo, speaking to the media about how they’ve never felt so humiliated because they’re still a free agent, in large part because of their sexuality. They felt like they couldn’t take these professional opportunities in this ecosystem because there’s an esports world cup. So at Evo, everyone is welcome – but it seems like this growing presence might be forcibly silencing opposing viewpoints.
There: I think any time you’re exploring global capabilities, you’re going to be in an environment where things don’t always align right away, or don’t always align in the beginning. So, when we talk about my belief again that complex change is rooted in existence, I’m seeing more conversations about that now than at any time in my lifetime. People are engaging in these conversations, not just in large social settings, but actually one-on-one. You end up through these one-on-one conversations, again hopefully we can build a relationship that allows us to engage in the way that I think fighting games should engage in. As someone who works in this space, I think that should be the long-term outcome of the culture because I want everyone anywhere in the world to be excited about playing fighting games, to be able to connect with each other through playing fighting games, and to share the same beliefs in simple truths that I hold.
iGamesNews: One last question on this topic – you mentioned that the size and scale of this year’s Evo, as well as Evo Japan, would not have been possible without partners like Qiddiya and Saudi Arabia. The country is investing heavily in its Vision 2030 plan. This financial expansion into other markets – esports is part of that! But there is a limit to this money, and if their goal is to expand into a for-profit enterprise, support for events like Evo may last five years or one year, who knows! Do you see them as a stable partner like Chipotle or one of the large corporate partners we have seen in recent years?
There: I think at this point the FGC is fortunate to have multiple stable partners and community investment partners over the years, such as Sony, Red Bull, and most recently Chipotle. This is still a new partnership, but all signs today are that Qiddiya wants to engage with our community in the same way. They have done shows in Tokyo and Las Vegas, so I expect we can continue to engage with shows in this way.
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Thiher’s hopes are almost certainly shared by many who have been caught in an awkward position, stuck between years of established culture and commerce. At least now, there is enough space for FGC community members to maintain their values, and there are people willing to stick to their values. At least to me, the ultimate goal of the Saudi government’s investment is clear. If Chipotle is selling burritos and Vitrix is selling arcade sticks, then Qiddiya Esports and the Esports World Cup are trying to sell people the country. They want people to travel there to participate in their esports events.
While it might be easy to emphasize the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation at Evo and stand up for values in the heart of the United States, it’s undoubtedly much harder to do so within the borders of Saudi Arabia. The bridge that should have been crossed then, or the stance that should have been taken now, is in the hands of fighting game players.
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