Esports Nations Cup Adds MOONTON, SNK & Chess.com as Partners

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has significantly broadened the competitive scope of its upcoming Esports Nations Cup (ENC) by securing three major new partners. On November 25, 2025, the foundation officially announced that Chess.com, MOONTON Games, and SNK Corporation have signed on as "Official Publishers" for the inaugural tournament. 

These industry leaders join an existing roster of founding heavyweights, Electronic Arts (EA), Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft, to help shape the framework of the first large-scale, nation-versus-nation esports competition, which is scheduled to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2026.

The addition of these three partners injects immediate genre diversity into the tournament, ensuring the ENC represents a broad spectrum of the global gaming community. As official publishers, they will integrate their flagship titles and competitive ecosystems into the event, bringing strategy, fighting games, and mobile esports into the mix. 

Chess.com joins following a multi-year partnership with the EWCF, leveraging a global user base of nearly 200 million members and a recent expansion into high-stakes esports circuits. SNK Corporation arrives amidst a revitalised push into the fighting game scene, contributing titles like The King of Fighters XV and Fatal Fury, backed by a 2025 world championship circuit. 

Meanwhile, MOONTON Games anchors the mobile category with Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a title that already functions as a de facto national sport in Southeast Asia and maintains deep ties with regional esports bodies.

Publishers to Shape Qualification Paths

This collaboration goes beyond simple branding. As Official Publishers, the trio will collaborate directly with the event organizers to develop specific qualification paths and tournament formats for their respective titles. According to the release, this hands-on approach is designed to ensure a consistent global structure that balances inclusivity with elite performance. 

The ENC aims to utilize a multi-layered qualification model that includes global rankings, regional tournaments, and wildcard entries, with specific invitations reserved for emerging esports nations to ensure wide geographic coverage.

Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, emphasized that these partnerships are crucial for making the tournament truly player-centric. He noted that by partnering closely with publishers, the foundation can give athletes a prestigious stage where they can compete under their country’s flag in the games that define their careers. 

Reichert added that with the seven partners announced so far, they can activate players worldwide to deliver a Nations Cup that feels "earned for players and real for fans," building a stage that national teams can aspire to for years to come.

National Pride Takes Center Stage

Unlike the annual Esports World Cup, which focuses on club-based franchises, the Esports Nations Cup is designed to shift the spotlight to national pride. The inaugural event in Riyadh will feature national teams representing their countries, with organizers projecting participation from approximately one hundred nations across roughly 15 different games. 

However, the expansion of the tournament comes amidst ongoing discussions regarding the source of the investment. Despite the creation of a country-based tournament being an exciting prospect for professional players, fans continue to raise concerns surrounding Saudi Arabia’s massive investment in the esports sector. 

Many within the community have described these initiatives as a form of sportswashing intended to distract from the country's human rights record, a topic that remains prevalent even as the list of publishing partners grows.