Epic Games Brings Fortnite, Rocket League to Esports World Cup

Epic Games, Inc. and the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) announced a three-year partnership on Dec 17, 2025, bringing Fortnite and Rocket League into the Esports World Cup (EWC) competitive ecosystem. The proposed deal will mark Fortnite’s debut in EWC after its absence from 2025’s programming, with an aim to establish structured competitive systems for both Fortnite and Rocket League.

Under the deal, Fortnite will headline the Fortnite Reload Elite Series Championship at EWC with $1 million USD prize money. Rocket League, a staple since EWC’s early run, will also return under the sponsorship framework, continuing its existing competitive circuits. 

The collaboration signals a shift toward publisher-aligned, multi-year competitive ecosystems at the world’s largest esports festival. EWCF’s Chief Games Officer, Fabian Scheuermann, described the integration as introducing “a new global, multi-year competitive ecosystem” for Fortnite at EWC, highlighting its broad cultural and community impact. 

Fortnite was omitted from the 2025 edition after EWCF CEO, Ralf Reichert, stated it didn’t have proper competitive infrastructure and a deep esports ecosystem for featuring at EWC.

Fortnite Reload Elite Series Championship Breakdown

The partnership between Epic Games and EWCF commits both sides to a sustained competitive roadmap for Fortnite and Rocket League within the EWC ecosystem across multiple years. Fortnite Reload Elite Series Championship features a fast-paced 40-player battle royale format with squad systems. 

The Reload Elite Series, qualifier for the Championship at EWC, will feature Open Rounds, Play-Ins, Heats, and Finals. The matches are scheduled to be in online mode, with each final being broadcast live on Fortnite Competitive channels. After the culmination of qualifier finals, the top 40 Duos will advance to the Reload Elite Series Championship at EWC. 

EWC 2026 is scheduled to continue its expansive model in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Fortnite and Rocket League joining the 20 other confirmed titles (EWC 2026 is confirmed to feature 24 titles as per the announcement). The event is scheduled to run from July 6 to Aug 23, 2026, featuring a $70M prize pool in total.