Late last week, the Esports World Cup – a known vehicle for Saudi government sportswashing – announced that popular location guessing game GeoGuessr will be participating in its upcoming Esports World Cup Festival tournament program, putting the game’s community in an uncomfortable position not unlike the pretzel fighting game players found themselves contorted into a couple months ago. Difference is, GeoGuessr might constitute one of the most geopolitically aware gaming communities on the planet as a result of what it’s, you know, about. Outcry was immediate, and now GeoGuessr map makers have taken their protest to the next level.
Today a conglomerate of map makers published a statement on the game’s official subreddit announcing a full-on blackout of many popular maps.
"We, the creators of a considerable share of GeoGuessr’s most popular maps, have decided to make our maps unplayable in protest of GeoGuessr AB’s decision to host a World Championship wildcard tourney at the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh,” reads the note, attributed to the GeoGuessr mapping community. “The GeoGuessr community is diverse and includes many members of groups that would be harshly persecuted were they to live in Saudi Arabia. In solidarity with those currently residing in Saudi Arabia while being subject to oppression, as well as members of the community who would feel and be unsafe attending the tournament in Riyadh, we have decided to black out our maps by replacing all their previous locations with random garbage locations, rendering them unplayable.”
The map makers went on to say that the blackout will continue until GeoGuessr’s developers take action: “Specifically, we demand that GeoGuessr cancels its wildcard event in Saudi Arabia and commits to not hosting any events there as long as it continues its oppressive regime.”
I'm both a woman and queer, so I asked myself: If I was a competitor, would I feel comfortable going? And even if I was, would I feel alright knowing that I would be facing much less strict rules than locals?
GeoGuessr relies on Google Maps for data, but community members build custom tools and organize locations into “maps” so you’re not just staring at random, indecipherable stretches of land all day long. Official game features, like its competitive duels mode, rely on community maps – or they did until today. As of this publishing, duels mode maps had been replaced by generic “world” maps to account for the blackout.
Zemmip, the GeoGuessr map maker who posted the blackout notice to Reddit, told Aftermath that “basically all the big community maps got taken down.” These maps, they said, have been played over 25 million times in total.
Emilyapocalypse, a map maker who helped create tools for GeoGuessr's largest community mapping project, "A Community World," told Aftermath that joining the blackout was a no-brainer.
"I'm both a woman and queer, so I asked myself: If I was a competitor, would I feel comfortable going?" she said. "And even if I was, would I feel alright knowing that I would be facing much less strict rules than locals? Would I be comfortable with my other queer friends going? The answer to these question is generally a 'no.' Besides that, I am also unhappy with Saudi Arabia's treatment of their migrant workers, and their actions in Yemen. The biggest kicker, however, is that the EWC is directly organized by the government that is responsible for all of this – it's not just an unfortunate tournament location; it's the government's own sportswashing attempt."
She also explained that GeoGuessr's community is unique in the sheer amount of sway it holds over the game, and with great power comes great responsibility.
"What makes protesting especially crucial," she said, "is the special position that the community is in: Since the game is so reliant on the community's map makers and developers, we hold quite a bit more power than other games' communities, and there are also much fewer – if any – contractual obligations to not speak out."
Other games' communities have gone gentler into that good night where the Esports World Cup is concerned, but Emilyapocalypse views this as an instance where, again, those players don't necessarily have the power to slam the emergency brake.
"It's clear that there are many people involved in other esports who are also not happy with the EWC," she said. "For instance, even though I'm only a very casual Valorant viewer, I've still seen casters like Sideshow openly speaking up against the event, and ex-pros like Tarik and Tenz both openly stating that they rejected large sums of money to be involved in the EWC. That said, the GeoGuessr community's response still absolutely exceeded my expectations, and I am extremely thankful for this. I do, however, also understand that we are in a unique spot."
Since the game is so reliant on the community's map makers and developers, we hold quite a bit more power than other games' communities, and there are also much fewer – if any – contractual obligations to not speak out.
ReAnna, a GeoGuessr player who's competed at the pro level, echoed other community members' sentiment.
"I object in particular to showing up at an event that is hosted by a government that is directly responsible for the oppression that my queer siblings face in Saudi Arabia," she told Aftermath. "There is no separation between the people organizing this event and the people jailing activists. Fans that object to boycotting this event ask where the line is, because many other governments – such as the USA – also commit human rights abuses. I'm not sure where I draw the line, but I know that a government-funded event in one of the world's infamous dictatorships is well past it."
Tensions have been rising between GeoGuessr’s developers and community ever since the Esports World Cup announcement, which was met with a torrent of skull, vomit, and thumbs-down emojis in the game’s Discord. A couple days later, the developers posted a response to the blowback, which Zemmip called “AI generated.”
“We always review each event opportunity to ensure that it's open to players of all backgrounds, genders and views,” read GeoGuessr’s Discord statement. “We have been assured by the Esports World Cup that all players are welcome and would not attend the event if this was not the case.”
The developers went on to clarify their financial stake in the event: “We are not receiving funding from the local government or affiliated organizations. The Esports World Cup is organizing and covering the event logistics, while we are funding the entire prize pool ourselves. There is no financial upside for us in attending this event and our motivation for attendance is to bring our message of exploration and understanding to our GeoGuessr community in the Middle East.”
This statement, too, was met with widespread derision. Today, the Discord is full of messages in support of the blackout, with some posting pictures of themselves canceling their subscriptions to the game. As of this publishing, it appears that moderators have disabled new sign ups.
You don’t have to be making money hand over fist to advance a government’s sportswashing agenda. These events trade in credibility, and GeoGuessr is an otherwise squeaky clean brand with global appeal, one that laypeople know due to its association with widely admired influencers like Trevor “Rainbolt” Rainbolt. In other words, it’s the exact kind of property a government with a history of hostility against women and LGBTQIA+ people – as well as war crimes, journalist assassinations, and death sentences “following grossly unfair trials” – would want to be associated with. It screams “Don’t worry, we’re chill now.”
I fear that GeoGuessr sees it as a step towards 'legitimacy' as an esport. I don't think that going to an event that is largely astroturfed is a good way to obtain legitimacy.
Aftermath reached out to GeoGuessr’s developers for a response to the blackout, but as of this publishing, they did not reply.
ReAnna described GeoGuessr's pro scene as "on the edge" in that it's theoretically possible to earn decent money if you win every major event, but added that most who make a living off the game are "content creators with large YouTube or TikTok followings." That in mind, she's concerned that GeoGuessr climbed into bed with the Esports World Cup not for money, but to boost its competitive scene's profile.
"I'm honestly more concerned about what GeoGuessr sees in the EWC," she said. "It's not an event that attracts high viewership compared to other much cheaper events, and it would be surprising if new players discover GeoGuessr through its participation in the EWC. I fear that GeoGuessr sees it as a step towards 'legitimacy' as an esport. I don't think that going to an event that is largely astroturfed is a good way to obtain legitimacy."
It remains to be seen how GeoGuessr reacts to a full-scale community revolt. In the meantime, the community is taking matters into its own hands. One map maker published a challenge meant to accompany the blackout that “shows how to run a dictatorship in 5 simple steps,” while others, according to Zemmip, are organizing a tournament “to highlight the women and LGBT members of [our] community” called the Rainbow Classic, which will run counter to GeoGuessr’s Esports World Cup event in July.
“You don't play games with human rights,” the GeoGuessr map makers’ statement concludes.
