In 2026, the Esports World Cups Foundation will also organize the Esports Nations Cup, a national esports competition, for the first time. Additional publishing partners were found for this: Chess.com, Moonton and SNK.
The number of publishers confirmed as partners for the first Esports Nation Cup (ENC) has now risen to seven. In addition to the three companies mentioned above – Chess.com, Moonton and SNK– Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent and Ubisoft were already confirmed as partners when the new esports event was announced.
The three new publishers and all forthcoming Official Publishers will co-design qualification paths and competition formats for their respective titles - ensuring integrity, competitive relevance, and a consistent global structure.
"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," said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF). "With the seven partners announced so far as close collaborators, we can activate players worldwide and deliver a Nations Cup that feels earned for players and real for fans, and build a stage that national teams can aspire to for years to come."
The ENC is the EWCF's second major project and, following its debut in Riyadh, is set to take place every two years at a different location. The plan is for the ENC not to feature traditional esports organizations competing against each other, as is the case with the World Cup, but rather athletes from national teams representing countries from all regions of the world. There will be both team and solo competitions. Many details still need to be finalized, including the exact qualification procedures. However, a rough idea already exists. A combination of global rankings, regional qualifying tournaments, and wildcards is intended to offer an ideal mix of representation and competition in each discipline.
