Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya Takes Full Control of Iconic Fighting Game Tournament Evo

In a muted announcement that’s perhaps not all that surprising considering the direction the wind’s been blowing, Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya now owns all of the iconic fighting game tournament, Evo.

You may recall Sony and RTS rescuing the esports event several years ago. The former sold its stake to India’s NODWIN Gaming late last year.

RTS was then bought out by Qiddiya, the digital entertainment arm of the Saudia Arabian Public Investment Fund, or PIF for short.

According to a press release, RTS has now purchased NODWIN Gaming’s stake in the event, effectively giving Qiddiya – and, by extension, Saudi Arabia – full control.

In a statement, it said:

“Under RTS ownership, Evo’s traditions, values, and identity will remain unchanged, with a continued focus on serving players, fans, and publishers at every level of the industry.”

But fans were already unimpressed with Saudi Arabia’s involvement, with many citing the country’s human rights record as the reason for their displeasure.

For many years now, Saudi Arabia has inserted itself into various forms of global entertainment in order to alter its image. The biggest and most obvious example of this is in football (or soccer), which many consider it “sportswashing”.

Saudi Arabia already has its fingerprints all over the fighting game community specifically, as it owns SNK, the makers of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

While that’s undeniably a good game, many feel the involvement of the PIF resulted in the inclusion of characters like Cristiano Ronaldo and Salvatore, which seem out of place.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Evo moving forward, and whether it’s relocated to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, like the recent Esports World Cup.

One thing’s for certain, if you’ve got fighting game chops and loose morals, you may want to sharpen up your skills: the prize pools are about to explode to unimaginable numbers.