The global esports landscape is preparing for a historic milestone as the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) strengthens its foundation with three major additions: MOONTON Games, Chess.com, and SNK. Announced by the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), these new partners join industry giants EA, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft as Official Publishers for the world’s first large-scale, nation-based esports competition.
Set to debut in November 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Esports Nations Cup introduces a new era of national representation in competitive gaming — a format poised to redefine international esports and energize fans around the globe.
A New Class of Official Publishers Joins the Esports Nations Cup
The addition of MOONTON Games, Chess.com, and SNK marks a major leap forward for the ENC’s competitive ecosystem. These publishers bring with them global player communities, world-famous titles, and decades of competitive credibility.
They join the ENC’s Founding Publishers — EA, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft — in shaping the tournament’s core structure, rules, and qualification pathways. Together, this group forms the strategic backbone of the event, ensuring a consistent, competitive, and globally recognized model for national-level esports.
Each publisher will co-design the qualification routes and competitive formats for their respective games, ensuring that every title represented on the ENC stage offers fairness, integrity, and international relevance.
A Player-Centric Tournament Built With Publishers at Its Core
According to EWCF CEO Ralf Reichert, this publisher-driven approach allows the ENC to deliver a competition that truly serves players:
“By partnering closely with publishers, we can make the Esports Nations Cup truly player-centric, and give players the opportunity to represent their country in the games that define their careers,” Reichert shared. “With the seven partners announced so far, we can activate players worldwide, deliver a Nations Cup that feels earned for players and real for fans, and build a stage national teams can aspire to for years to come.”
This collaborative model sets the ENC apart from other global tournaments, cementing it as a long-term ecosystem built with — not simply for — the world’s top esports organizations and developers.
A New Competitive Frontier: Clubs to Countries
Launched under the umbrella of the Esports World Cup, the Esports Nations Cup pushes competitive gaming into uncharted territory. While the EWC spotlights elite clubs, the ENC emphasizes national pride, uniting players under their country’s flag for a biennial, multi-title showdown.
The ENC will feature teams from every major region worldwide, including:
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Middle East
- Africa
- Asia
- Oceania
Competitions will span both team-based and solo disciplines, with a qualification structure designed for fairness and inclusivity. The model combines global rankings, regional playoffs, wildcards, and solidarity placements to ensure each title is represented by a diverse, competitive pool of national teams.
Beginning in Riyadh in 2026, the ENC will rotate host countries every two years, bringing national esports passion directly to fans across cultures and continents.
To stay up to date, visit esportsnationscup.com, and follow ENC on X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and follow the Esports World Cup Foundation on LinkedIn.
