RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation has announced the addition of Chess.com, MOONTON Games and SNK for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup.

The tournament will see the best esports players in the world compete for the honor of representing their countries, bringing national competition to the global esports stage as a recurring series in the first event of its kind at this scale.

The trio join as Official Publishers, alongside Founding Publishers and video game companies EA, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft, the core partners developing the ENC’s foundational structure. They bring with them their titles, global reach and player communities.

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. The EWCF and its Founding Publishers will continue to co-develop the ENC to establish its framework.

“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, EWCF CEO.

“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 comes on the heels of the Esports World Cup — the world’s largest multi-title esports event — and extends the EWCF’s mission to add a new layer to global competition. While the EWC unites the best clubs, the ENC is a platform for national identity and regional representation.

The ENC will feature national teams from all major regions, including North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania, which will compete in both team-based and solo-player formats. A multi-layered qualification model will balance competitiveness and inclusivity, combining global rankings, regional qualifiers and wildcard entries, including solidarity placements, to ensure a broad and representative competitive stage in every game.

The ENC will debut in Riyadh in November 2026, before moving to a rotating host model, bringing national esports teams to fans and cultures worldwide. Set to take place every two years, it will provide a dependable structure for players and esports organizations, encouraging long-term investment in national team programs.