The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has announced the first 20 titles that will feature in its 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC), with a further four games yet to be confirmed.
As the 2025 edition, the lineup for the 2026 tournament in Riyadh will consist of 24 titles in total. The confirmed returning games, announced on 8 October, are: Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Call of Duty: Warzone, Chess, Counter-Strike 2, Crossfire, Dota 2, EA FC, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch 2, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege X, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics, and VALORANT.
In a statement, the EWC said the selection reflects its strategic approach to the event’s composition. “The EWC 2026 lineup encompasses fan-favourite shooters, battle royales, MOBAs, fighting games, strategy and chess, reflecting our mission to unite the world’s most popular games on the world’s biggest stage,” the Foundation stated.
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The missing games from the 2025 edition are StarCraft 2, Rennsport, Tekken, and Rocket League. Fortnite was featured in 2024, but was left out from last year’s lineup.
The titles confirmed are underpinned by multi-year partnerships with a range of major publishers. The EWC cited its collaborations with Activision Blizzard, Capcom, Chess.com, Electronic Arts (EA), Garena, KRAFTON Inc., MOONTON GAMES, Riot Games, SNK, Smilegate, Tencent, Ubisoft, and Valve Corporation as central to securing the lineup. From these, the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) partly owns SNK, EA, Activision Blizzard, and Capcom.
According to the Foundation, “These iconic titles have been central to establishing the EWC as a premier global event attracting millions of fans across every genre.” The Esports World Cup 2026 is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the summer of 2026.
