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Title: GeoGuessr community maps go dark in protest of EWC ties to human
rights abuses

Date: Wed, 21 May 2025 22:10:38 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/gaming/geoguessr-com...

A group of GeoGuessr map creators have pulled their contributions from the
game to protest its participation in the Esports World Cup 2025, calling the
tournament "a sportswashing tool used by the government of Saudi Arabia to
distract from and conceal its horrific human rights record." The protestors
say the blackout will hold until the game's publisher, GeoGuessr AB, cancels
its planned Last Chance Wildcard tournament at the EWC in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia, from July 21 to 27.

GeoGuessr is a browser game where players try to pinpoint locations using
only Google Street View images, and it relies on community mapmakers to stay
relevant. The blackout, which began on May 21, includes "dozens of creators
and their maps, including a supermajority of the most popular competitively
relevant world maps," according to a statement the group shared on Reddit.
The removed maps have been played tens of millions of times.

One of the largest GeoGuessr communities, Plonk It, has also removed its Map
Directory and shared the mapping community's open letter. That statement
reads in full as follows:

We, the creators of a considerable share of GeoGuessrΓÇÖs most popular maps,
have decided to make our maps unplayable in protest of GeoGuessr ABΓÇÖs
decision to host a World Championship wildcard tourney at the Esports World
Cup (EWC) in Riyadh.

The EWC is a sportswashing tool used by the government of Saudi Arabia to
distract from and conceal its horrific human rights record.

Groups targeted by the government include women, LGBTQ people, apostates and
atheists, political dissenters, migrant workers in the Kafala system,
religious minorities, and many others. The subjugation of these groups is
extensive and pervasive. Members of these groups are routinely subjected to
discrimination, imprisonment, torture, and even public executions. These
severe human rights violations are well-documented and indisputable.

By participating in the EWC, GeoGuessr is contributing to that sportswashing
agenda, which is designed to take attention away from Saudi Arabia's human
rights violations.

The GeoGuessr community is diverse and includes many members of groups that
would be harshly persecuted were they to live in Saudi Arabia. In solidarity
with those currently residing in Saudi Arabia while being subject to
oppression, as well as members of the community who would feel and be unsafe
attending the tournament in Riyadh, we have decided to black out our maps by
replacing all their previous locations with random garbage locations,
rendering them unplayable.

This blackout includes dozens of creators and their maps, including a
supermajority of the most popular competitively relevant world maps. It will
continue until we see action from GeoGuessr; specifically, we demand that
GeoGuessr cancels its wildcard event in Saudi Arabia and commits to not
hosting any events there as long as it continues its oppressive regime.

You don't play games with human rights.

Thank you for reading.

The GeoGuessr mapping community

We've hit up GeoGuessr AB for a comment on the blackout and will update this
story as we hear back.

The EWC is a huge, multi-game event owned and operated by the Saudi
government and held in the country's capital city. It's an evolution of the
Gamers8 tournament and this year marks the second EWC-branded competition;
it's due to take place in July and August with a total prize pool of $38
million, split among 24 games. Franchises participating in the 2025 event
include Rocket League, Apex Legends, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Counter-
Strike, Overwatch, Dota 2, Valorant, Street Fighter 6, EA Sports FC and PUBG.

It's difficult to compete in esports without running into Savvy Games Group,
the video game arm of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Alongside
hosting the EWC, Savvy has financial stakes in Nexon (10.2 percent
ownership), Electronic Arts (9 percent), Embracer Group (8.3 percent),
Nintendo (7.5 percent), Capcom (5 percent) and Take-Two Interactive (6.8
percent as of 2023). Savvy also runs ESL FACEIT Group, which contains the
Electronic Sports League, a longstanding and significant esports event
company. The New York Times reported last year that the Saudi government
plans to invest $38 billion in the video game industry by 2030.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
have long documented the abuses of the Saudi government. HRW describes Saudi
Arabia's human rights record as "abysmal," and specifically calls out the PIF
as a reputational whitewashing tool. Saudi authorities have been accused of
sportswashing in traditional sports as well, specifically through the
country's ownership of LIV Golf and Newcastle United FC.

In February, Riot Games ΓÇö the operator of League of Legends, Valorant and
Teamfight Tactics, and arguably the largest name in esports ΓÇö signed a
three-year deal with the Esports World Cup Foundation for an undisclosed sum.
Riot defended the partnership, arguing that the resulting financial boon for
players and the esports industry outweighed other concerns.

"We know some of you may not feel great about our decision to partner with
the EWC in this way, and we respect that," Riot's statement read.

Though corporate support for the EWC remains strong, the GeoGuessr mapping
community isn't alone in rejecting this year's tournament. Street Fighter 6
player Christopher Hancock, who plays as ChrisCCH for FlyQuest, recently
declined his spot at EWC 2025. In a social media statement, Hancock said, "I
gave this decision a lot of thought and ultimately decided that, due to the
nature in which the event is funded and managed, I do not feel comfortable
participating in it." He added that the partnership between the Capcom Pro
Tour and the EWC effectively forced him to work with the Saudi-backed group.

"Choosing to not participate in any EWC qualifiers would effectively mean
retirement from competing," Hancock said. "I find it regrettable that this
event has become so deeply embedded in the [fighting game community], but I
have not yet made a decision on whether I will stop competing in events
associated to it altogether."

Alongside the GeoGuessr map blackout, the community protest added one new,
short challenge to the game called How to Run A Dictatorship. It takes
players through five locations around Riyadh, documenting the alleged
government-sanctioned torture, kidnapping, imprisonment and oppression of
women, LGBTQ people, religious minorities and political dissenters occurring
in these places. The challenge takes just a few minutes, so feel free to
experience it yourself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/gaming/geoguessr-com...
of-ewc-ties-to-human-rights-abuses-221037118.html?src=rss

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