EVO as an event has gone through a number of changes in the past few years, from a change in leadership to an expansion of events, it’s been a tumultuous time for the biggest fighting game tournament of the year. Formerly, it was only held once a year in Las Vegas, Nevada it has since expanded to also take place in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, talks have been in the works for a third EVO event.

Evo will be heading to new locations with brand new events in 2024!

Stay tuned for more information.

— Evo (@Evo) August 7, 2023

But this isn’t entirely a good thing, because the rumors are that the third event will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

These rumors are brought about by the purchase of EVO by Sony, and the fact that Sony’s other competitive video game endeavor, the Esports World Cup, is held in Riyadh. It makes sense from a player perspective too, as Saudi Arabia has always had a pretty massive crowd within the fighting game community, with SNK games such as King of Fighters and Fatal Fury having the backing of a Saudi Arabian prince.

The concern is that Saudi Arabia is not exactly a hospitable place for some members of the community, namely the LGBT players.

If EVO goes to Riyadh as rumored I’d hate to do it but I would have to boycott EVO in general. A large portion of the FGC is LGBT and it is NOT safe for us to travel to a country that prosecutes LGBT people and speaking with your wallet is the only power many of us have.

— TarZangief (@TarZangief) July 6, 2024

Those players are calling for a community wide boycott of all EVO tournaments should the third EVO tournament be announced to take place in Riyadh. While many are rallying to this battle cry it should be noted that the aforementioned Saudi Arabian crowd within the fighting game community are pushing back against this notion, with claims of racism and assumptions.

That’s a long way to say you don’t respect Islam, Christianity or Judaism. You don’t respect Arabs, you don’t respect anyone who doesn’t follow your beliefs & you spread hate & lies.

You can be part of the LGBTQ+, go to Saudi, don’t disrespect the culture and be fine. https://t.co/mb4KxcyxoC

— MachoorTV 🎮 (@MachoorTV) July 7, 2024

Overall, it’s a messy situation but it’s one brought about by an assumption. The Las Vegas EVO will be taking place in a few weeks, and the announcement of the third EVO tournament will likely happen there. While Riyadh is certainly a possibility, it’s not a guarantee; both Europe and South Korea also have very legitimate claims to being influential parts of the FGC, and there could very well be tournaments taking place in those regions.

But until an official announcement is made, the tension within the fighting game community will likely stew and boil even further. It’s unfortunate it’s come to this, but that’s the unfortunate result of corporate influence.