Latest news with #DanielAntell
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
GeoGuessr Bails On Controversial Saudi Tournament After Map Makers Revolt: 'When You Tell Us We've Got It Wrong We Take It Seriously'
GeoGuessr will not be one of the games participating in Saudi Arabia's Esports World Cup this year, after criticisms of sportswashing and the country's poor human rights record. The competitive guessing game that's popular on Twitch had previously agreed to be part of the event alongside Riot, Blizzard, and other game makers, but reversed course after a full-on revolt from its community of map makers. 'You—our community—have made it clear that this decision does not align what GeoGuessr stands for,' the CEO behind the game announced on Thursday. 'I've seen your reactions over the past few days regarding our decision to participate in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh,' Daniel Antell wrote in a statement on X. 'When we made that decision, it was with positive intentions. To engage with our community in the Middle East and to spread GeoGuessr's core mission of let everyone Explore the World.' He continued, 'That said, you—our community—have made it clear that this decision does not align what GeoGuessr stands for. So, when you tell us we've got it wrong we take it seriously. That's why we've made the decision to withdraw from participating in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.' GeoGuessr's retreat comes in the face of an uproar among fans after it revealed it would be joining the competitive gaming event scheduled to take place over the summer in Riyadh. 'We, the creators of a considerable share of GeoGuessr's most popular maps, have decided to make our maps unplayable in protest of GeoGuessr AB's decision to host a World Championship wildcard tourney at the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh,' Zemmip posted on the game's subreddit yesterday. 'The EWC is a sportswashing tool used by the government of Saudi Arabia to distract from and conceal its horrific human rights record.' As Aftermath reports, GeoGuessr uses data from Google to test its players' geographical knowledge, but relies in large part on community maps to funnel all of that information into locations and content for PvP duels that are more interesting to play and watch. Many fans signed onto the map makers' boycott, with support for the blackout spreading through the GeoGuessr Discord, even as big prize pools in Saudi Arabia tried to lure the game's top competitors. The Esports World Cup features a $70 million prize pool and lots of flashy pageantry. Launched in 2024, it's part of a growing pattern of Saudi Arabia trying to leverage sports, entertainment, and gaming in particular to diversify its economy and improve its national image which is otherwise tainted by everything from anti-LGBTQ+ laws to the slaughter of journalists critical of the ruling royal family. Esports pros in other scenes, from Valorant to Dota 2, have faced criticism for participating in that effort. 'Imagine the one dev with the balls to stand up to Saudi is GeoGuessr,' wrote former Overwatch League caster Christopher 'MonteCristo' Mykles after it reversed course. 'Time for Riot, Blizzard, EA, and Epic to follow suit.' . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Engadget
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
GeoGuessr pulls out of the Esports World Cup after a community protest
The team behind GeoGuessr is withdrawing the location-guessing game from the Esports World Cup (EWC) after fans protested its decision to participate in the event. Community members pulled many popular custom maps from the game after it emerged the game's publisher, GeoGuessr AB, was going to hold a tournament at the EWC, which takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in July. Map creators who removed their community creations from GeoGuessr claimed that the EWC is "a sportswashing tool used by the government of Saudi Arabia to distract from and conceal its horrific human rights record." Many other prominent game franchises will be featured at the event, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rocket League, Street Fighter and EA Sports FC. In a statement posted on X and Reddit, GeoGuessr AB CEO and co-founder Daniel Antell said the community stated loud and clear that the decision to take part in the EWC "does not align with what GeoGuessr stands for." As such, the team is pulling out of the event. Here is Antell's full statement: Hi everyone,I've seen your reactions over the past few days regarding our decision to participate in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. When we made that decision, it was with positive intentions. To engage with our community in the Middle East and to spread GeoGuessr's core mission of let everyone Explore the Erland, Anton, and I founded GeoGuessr in 2013, we've always strived to be a community-first game. Everyone here at the Stockholm office is a passionate GeoGuessr fan, doing our best to build something meaningful, with you and for said, you - our community - have made it clear that this decision does not align with what GeoGuessr stands when you tell us we've got it wrong we take it seriously. That's why we've made the decision to withdraw from participating in the Esports World Cup in will come back with information on how the wildcards will be distributed as soon as you for speaking up and sharing your thoughts. /Daniel
