GeoGuessr has pulled out of the Esports World Cup after facing backlash from players and map creators for its planned participation in the controversial event, which Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host later this summer.
GeoGuessr is an immensely popular geography game with 85 million users, placing players in random global locations and challenging them to identify their surroundings. It offers a wealth of developer and community-made customization options, allowing players to choose opponents, select specific maps, decide between urban or rural settings, restrict locations to certain regions, and toggle movement, panning, and zooming—or opt for the no-move, pan, or zoom (NMPZ) mode. The game also features an array of outstanding community-created custom maps and has long been a fixture in the esports scene.
However, on Wednesday (May 22), Zemmip—acting on behalf of "creators behind a substantial portion of GeoGuessr's most popular maps"—initiated a "blackout," disabling their maps in protest of the "company's choice to host a World Championship wildcard tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh."
"Targeted groups by the government include women, LGBTQ individuals, apostates and atheists, political dissidents, migrant workers under the Kafala system, religious minorities, and many others," Zemmip stated on the GeoGuessr subreddit. "The oppression faced by these communities is systemic and far-reaching. They routinely endure discrimination, incarceration, torture, and even public executions. These grave human rights abuses are thoroughly documented and beyond dispute.
"By taking part in the EWC, GeoGuessr is aiding this sportswashing campaign, intended to divert attention from Saudi Arabia's human rights violations," the statement continued.
The blackout involved dozens of creators and their maps, "including most of the top competitive world maps." Organizers announced the protest would persist until "GeoGuessr cancels its wildcard event in Saudi Arabia and pledges not to hold any events there as long as the oppressive regime remains in power."
"Human rights are not a game," the statement concluded.
After numerous confused fans posted on the subreddit and social media asking why their maps were unavailable, GeoGuessr issued a statement early this morning (May 22), announcing it had heard the community's concerns and would withdraw from the event.
"We will not be taking part in the EWC," read the statement from CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell. "Over the past few days, I've seen your reactions to our choice to participate in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.
"Our original decision was made with good intentions—to connect with our Middle Eastern community and further GeoGuessr's mission of letting everyone Explore the World. Since Erland, Anton, and I started GeoGuessr in 2013, we have always aimed to be a community-driven game. Everyone in our Stockholm office is a dedicated GeoGuessr fan, working hard to build something meaningful, with and for you.
"However, you—our community—have clearly expressed that this decision conflicts with GeoGuessr's values," the statement went on. "When you tell us we've made a mistake, we listen carefully. That is why we have chosen to pull out of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. We will share updates on how the wildcard spots will be allocated as soon as possible. Thank you for speaking out and sharing your perspectives."
The top comment on the GeoGuessr subreddit currently states: "Now that's a perfect 5K"—referring to the maximum score for pinpointing an exact location in the game.
"The community united, stood up for what they believed in, and made it happen," added another user.
IGN has reached out to the Esports World Cup for a statement.
Nevertheless, many games and publishers are still set to participate in the July event, including Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege, among numerous others.
GeoGuessr launched on Steam last week, initially ranking as the second-lowest-rated game ever (though it has since improved to the seventh-worst-rated title on the platform). Players expressed frustration over missing features in the supposedly free-to-play game, such as the inability to play solo, even for practice. The free amateur mode appears to be populated by bots rather than actual players. Perhaps most surprisingly, even if players pay to access features in the browser version, these do not transfer to the Steam edition.
