By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) — The IOC and Saudi Arabia have canceled their 12-year deal to host the video gaming Esports Olympics in Riyadh in a rare setback for a sports project backed by the oil-rich kingdom.
The International Olympic Committee said on Thursday they “mutually agreed that they will end their cooperation on the Olympic Esports Games.”
An official Olympic event shaped as a signature asset in the Saudi drive to acquire and develop sports as part of the Vision 2030 modernization program driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is known to be a video gaming fan.
“At the same time, both parties are committed to pursuing their own esports ambitions on separate paths,” the Olympic body said, announcing a reset of a major project seven months into the presidency of Kirsty Coventry.
The partnership was confirmed on the eve of the Paris Olympics last year but the inaugural Esports Olympics due to be held this year in Riyadh was already postponed to 2027.
Saudi Arabia already hosts the Esports World Cup which has shooter games like Call of Duty and Street Fighter that always shaped to be an issue for the IOC to endorse while also seeking to connect with younger audiences.
Announcing the Saudi partnership last year, then IOC president Thomas Bach cautioned “we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the program.”
Last year, Saudi sports minister and national Olympic body leader Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said “we are committed to hosting a special event that respects and celebrates the Olympic values.”
The annual Esports World Cup in Riyadh pays tens of millions of dollars in prize money and is personally supported by the crown prince, who is known by his initials MBS.
The Olympic deal was terminated weeks after the $925 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund fueled a $55 billion buyout of storied game maker Electronic Arts. One of the Public Investment Fund’s investment partners in the deal was a firm managed by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The IOC said it will “develop a new approach” to the video gaming Olympics and “pursue a new partnership model.”
“This approach will be a chance to better fit the Olympic Esports Games to the long-term ambitions of the Olympic movement,” it said, stating the goal of “having the inaugural Games as soon as possible.”
A Saudi-backed video gaming Olympics promised to be a financial bonus for sports which have established simulation events like cycling and rowing.
One option for the IOC could be to return to Singapore, which hosted a week-long exhibition of video gaming in 2023 for Olympic stakeholders. A veteran IOC member from Singapore, Ser Miang Ng, was a key liaison with Saudi Olympic officials leading to the 12-year agreement.
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