KRAFTON announced on the 25th that it will participate as a co-partner in the 'Esports Nations Cup' (hereinafter referred to as ENC) hosted by the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF).
ENC is the world's first multi-sport global esports national competition in which top players from around the world compete representing their countries and regions. The first tournament will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2026, and it will subsequently be held in various countries on a rotating basis.
The tournament will include global leading game publishers such as KRAFTON, Electronic Arts, Tencent, and Ubisoft as co-partners. Each partner will establish a national ranking system, qualifying methods, and tournament formats that reflect the characteristics of their games and fan expectations, ultimately providing a top-level esports competition environment for fans worldwide.
ENC will be participated by national teams from regions around the world, and all participating players will receive guaranteed prize money with a uniform ranking reward system applied per category. It will be held every two years and will provide a foundation to support more stable operations for esports organizations, including players and coaches. Additionally, it plans to establish a system that enables publishers, clubs, and partners to operate long-term national competition programs.
This tournament has been organized based on the operational experience of the world's largest multi-sport esports tournament, the Esports World Cup (EWC), and will showcase a new form of international esports stage through representative competition by country.
Ralph Reichert, CEO of EWCF, noted, "Competition between nations is the ultimate expression of sports. ENC will bring this to life in esports, allowing every fan to have a flag to cheer for and every player to feel the pride of representing their country," adding that "ENC will create heroes, inspire the next generation of players, and will also become a stage to accelerate the growth of the global esports ecosystem in collaboration with partners and stakeholders."
Lee Min-ho, head of esports at KRAFTON, said, "I believe it is very significant that KRAFTON is participating as a co-partner in ENC, which will become a new milestone for esports in collaboration with global partners," and added, "We will make every effort to ensure that our games and fans can experience new glory on the stage representing their country."