Saudi firm acquires co-ownership of Evo fighting game tournaments
The long-running fighting game tournaments are now co-owned by PIF-backed Qiddiya
A Saudi Arabia-backed firm has become the co-owner of Evolution Championship Series (Evo), the popular fighting game event.
RTS, the co-owner of Evo, has been acquired by Qiddiya, it announced on Tuesday. Qiddiya is a planned Riyadh megaproject supported by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund.
“Excited to share that Qiddiya has acquired full ownership of RTS, a strategic step that will further strengthen our esports business and unlock new opportunities across the broader gaming ecosystem,” wrote chief strategy officer Muhannad Aldawood on LinkedIn.
“And most importantly, this will enable Qiddiya to keep fueling the continued growth of Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s largest fighting game event since 1996, with unlimited potential.
“This milestone paves the way for setting new heights in the evolution of Evo toward achieving the aspirations of the fighting game community.”
The news comes weeks after Sony Interactive Entertainment sold its stake in Evo to esports group NODWIN, ending a four-year period as co-owner. NODWIN co-owns the event alongside RTS.
Stretching back to 1996, the Evolution Championship Series is the world’s largest and longest-running fighting game tournament, regularly held in Las Vegas and Tokyo. In October, a European version will take place in Nice, France.
