Backlash as Evo, the World's Biggest Fighting Game Event, Is Partially Snapped Up by Saudi Arabia

The fighting game community is currently being rocked by news that Evo — the world's biggest annual fighting game event — is now co-owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (often referred to as the PIF).

To briefly recap, Evo is owned by two organisations: talent management outfit RTS, and Indian entertainment company NODWIN Gaming. The latter was just recently sold co-ownership by Sony, although PlayStation remains Evo's main sponsor.

However, Qiddiya Gaming — the esports-focused arm of the PIF — just snapped up the aforementioned RTS, thus making the Saudi regime one of Evo's key shareholders.

So why has there been such a backlash from fighting game players and fans on social media?

Well, for years now, Saudi Arabia has been accused of "sportswashing" — the act of injecting significant amounts of money into various, well-liked sectors of entertainment in an attempt portray the country, which has an appalling human rights record, and its absolute monarchy, in a more positive light.

What's more, the fighting game community has long welcomed people from all walks of life. Many LGTBQ+ players compete across all kinds of titles, and given that LGTBQ+ people are afforded no legal protection whatsoever in Saudi Arabia — indeed, same-sex sexual activities are illegal and punishable by death — it's easy to understand the outrage over Evo's new ownership.

Just last month, the 2025 Esports World Cup came to a close in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Compared to your typical fighting game tournaments, the event offered colossal prize money — and its production values were frankly absurd — and so it attracted a lot of interest from fans. Again, the topic of sportswashing bubbles to the surface.

The EWC was met with heavy criticism and boycotts from sections of the fighting game community, but that didn't stop hundreds of professional players from competing in their respective tournaments. For many, that aforementioned prize pool was simply too life-changing to pass up.

And let's not forget, the PIF has already established a direct line to fighting game players through SNK — the developer of this year's Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The Japanese company is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia, with the powers that be pushing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Salvatore Ganacci as guest characters.

The worry, then, is that Evo will, in time, become another EWC — another way for Saudi Arabia to flex its immense wealth and subsequently divert attention from its well documented abuses of human rights.