After much speculation, it’s official: the football association FIFA and the game developer EA Sports have confirmed Riyadh as the venue for the FIFA 23 World Cup. The best club, the best nation, the best player – they will all be crowned in Saudi Arabia in July.
The two Germans Jonas “Jonny” Wirth and Berkay “BerkayLion” Demirci compete in the individual tournament. The reigning world champion Umut “RBLZ_Umut” Gültekin cannot defend his title, but he is fighting for the world championship title with RB Leipzig in the FIFAe Club World Cup and with the German national team in the FIFAe Nations Cup.
The tournament will be part of the “Gamers8” event. The gaming and e-sports festival is presented by the Savvy Gaming Group, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund. The prize money for the tournament trio will grow from $1.2 million to $3 million this year.