GeoGuessr has withdrawn from the Esports World Cup following intense backlash from its community and map creators over the event's controversial hosting by Saudi Arabia this summer. The popular geography game, which has attracted 85 million users, places players in random locations globally, challenging them to identify their whereabouts. Players have extensive customization options, including choosing opponents, selecting specific maps, and deciding on urban or rural settings, among other features. These options are enhanced by a vibrant community that creates a wide array of custom maps, making GeoGuessr a beloved fixture in the esports scene.
On May 22, a group of map creators, represented by Zemmip, initiated a "blackout" by making their maps unplayable. This protest was in response to GeoGuessr's decision to participate in a wildcard tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. Zemmip, speaking on behalf of creators responsible for many of GeoGuessr's most popular maps, highlighted the severe human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, targeting groups such as women, the LGBTQ community, apostates, atheists, political dissenters, migrant workers under the Kafala system, and religious minorities. They accused GeoGuessr of contributing to Saudi Arabia's sportswashing agenda, which aims to divert attention from these human rights abuses.
The blackout involved numerous creators and their maps, including most of the top competitively relevant world maps. The organizers vowed to continue the blackout until GeoGuessr canceled its event in Saudi Arabia and pledged not to host future events there while the oppressive regime persists. Their statement concluded with a powerful message: "You don't play games with human rights."
GeoGuessr has pulled out of the Esports World Cup after a backlash.
In response to the community's outcry and confusion over the map blackout, GeoGuessr issued a statement on the same day, announcing its withdrawal from the Esports World Cup. CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell explained that the initial decision to participate was driven by a desire to engage with the Middle Eastern community and promote GeoGuessr's mission of exploring the world. However, he acknowledged that the community's feedback was clear: the decision did not align with GeoGuessr's values. Antell emphasized the company's commitment to being community-driven, stating, "When you tell us we’ve got it wrong, we take it seriously." GeoGuessr promised to soon provide details on how the wildcards would be redistributed.
The GeoGuessr community celebrated this decision, with one top comment on the subreddit humorously stating, "Now that's a 5K," referring to the game's highest possible score. Another user praised the community's unity and determination in achieving this outcome.
Despite GeoGuessr's withdrawal, the Esports World Cup in July will still feature numerous other games and publishers, including Dota 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Rainbow Six Siege, among others.
Recently, GeoGuessr launched on Steam, initially receiving the second-worst rating on the platform due to missing features in its free-to-play version. Players criticized the inability to play solo for practice, the presence of bots in the free amateur mode, and the lack of feature synchronization between the browser and Steam versions, even for paying users. Despite these issues, the game's rating has since improved to the seventh-worst on Steam.
