GeoGuessr has withdrawn from the Esports World Cup after facing criticism from players and map creators over its participation in the Saudi Arabia-hosted event scheduled for this summer.
The popular geography game, which boasts 85 million users, places players in random global locations to guess their whereabouts. It offers extensive customization options, allowing players to select opponents, map types (urban/rural), specific regions, and movement restrictions (including the competitive NMPZ mode). The game has flourished with community-created maps and established itself as an esports fixture.
On May 22, prominent map creator Zemmip - representing many of GeoGuessr's most popular map designers - initiated a "blackout" protest by making their maps inaccessible. The action targeted GeoGuessr's planned World Championship wildcard tournament at the Riyadh event.
"Saudi Arabia systematically oppresses women, LGBTQ individuals, religious minorities, political dissidents, and migrant workers under the Kafala system," Zemmip stated on the GeoGuessr subreddit. "These groups face discrimination, imprisonment, torture and executions. By participating, GeoGuessr enables Saudi Arabia's sportswashing agenda to distract from these abuses."
The protest involved dozens of creators responsible for most competitive world maps, who vowed to maintain the blackout until GeoGuessr canceled its Saudi events and committed to avoiding the country while its rights violations continue.
Following widespread community confusion about unavailable maps, GeoGuessr CEO Daniel Antell announced the withdrawal on May 22:
"We won't participate in EWC," Antell stated. "Our initial decision aimed to engage Middle Eastern players and further our mission of global exploration. However, our community has clearly expressed that this contradicts GeoGuessr's values. When you tell us we're wrong, we listen. We'll share alternative wildcard distribution plans soon."
The top subreddit response praised the decision with "Now that's a 5K" - referencing the game's perfect location-guessing score. Another comment noted: "The community united, advocated for their position, and succeeded."
IGN has reached out to the Esports World Cup organizers for comment. The July event still features numerous participants including Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege.
GeoGuessr recently launched on Steam, initially becoming the platform's second-worst-reviewed game before improving slightly to seventh-worst. Players criticized missing features in the "free-to-play" version, including the inability to play solo for practice. The free mode reportedly contains mostly bots, and browser version subscriptions don't transfer to Steam.
