RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation has launched Road to EWC, a worldwide qualification programme for the Esports World Cup 2026, stitching together more than 230 tournaments across major esports regions into a single global competitive season.

Running from grassroots qualifiers to elite international leagues, the initiative creates a unified pathway for players and clubs to reach the Esports World Cup finals in Riyadh from 6 July to 23 August, 2026. The season integrates publisher-led ecosystems and major circuits into one calendar, offering year-round visibility for fans and structured progression for competitors.

“Road to EWC brings together the journeys that shape competitive esports,” said Esports World Cup Foundation chief product officer Faisal Bin Homran. “It gives players, clubs, publishers and fans a defined season to plan around, building a sustainable and global competitive ecosystem.”

The qualification network spans leading events including the Apex Legends Global Series, Capcom Cup, Chess.com Global Championship, EVO, Free Fire World Series, EA Sports FC Pro, Pubg Global Series, Rocket League Championship Series, Overwatch Champions Series, Tekken World Tour Finals, and official circuits for Call of Duty, League of Legends, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Trackmania and Valorant.

Advertisement

Open online qualifiers will also run for titles such as Dota 2, Teamfight Tactics, Call of Duty: Warzone and Chess, widening access for emerging talent.

In 2025, more than 2,500 players from over 100 countries qualified through the Road to EWC programme. Highlights included 15-year-old Free Fire player Rasyah Rasyid becoming the youngest champion in event history, EA FC star Manuel Bachoore claiming gold, and Street Fighter icon Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun securing another major title. Team Falcons captured their second club championship following a dramatic Overwatch 2 victory.

A dedicated Road to EWC hub will track qualification events, schedules and viewing options throughout the season. Ticket sales for the Esports World Cup 2026 are now live, with international partners across the US, Europe, Middle East, India and China.

The Esports World Cup returns to Riyadh next summer, bringing together the world’s top clubs across multiple game titles to compete for the largest prize pool in esports history.

Advertisement

KYOTO: Nintendo shares slid more than 10 per cent on Wednesday, a day after the gaming giant missed market forecasts for quarterly revenue and warned of mounting pressure from a global memory chip shortage, as per media reports.

The company beat profit expectations, posting a 24 per cent year-on-year rise, driven by strong sales of the Nintendo Switch franchise. Revenue surged 86 per cent, with the original Switch now the firm’s best-selling console since its launch in 2017.

Yet rising component costs are weighing on investor sentiment. Nintendo relies heavily on dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a segment grappling with acute shortages as artificial intelligence and data centre demand soak up supply.

Ortus Advisors head of Japanese equity strategy Andrew Jackson, said markets remain uneasy about the impact of higher memory prices on Nintendo’s margins.

President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledged that while soaring memory costs have not yet dented results for the current financial year, prolonged price pressures could squeeze profitability.

Advertisement

TrendForce estimates that contract prices for conventional Dram chips in the first quarter could jump between 90 and 95 per cent from the previous quarter. A senior semiconductor industry executive recently told CNBC the shortage may last until 2027.

Kantan Games chief executive of consultancy Serkan Toto, said sustained cost inflation could force Nintendo to raise console prices: a risky move for its largely casual user base.

The company’s newest device, Switch 2, launched in June last year and already dominates its console sales mix. But analysts warn that momentum in the first year is critical for any new platform.

Concerns persist over whether Switch 2 can match the runaway success of its predecessor, despite Nintendo holding firm on its full-year sales forecast.

The outlook hinges on upcoming blockbuster releases, including Mario Tennis Fever in February and Pokémon Pokopia in March. Nintendo is also banking on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, due in April, to replicate the sales boost sparked by its 2023 hit film.

Advertisement

Omdia senior analyst James McWhirter, said 2026 would be a “make-or-break” year as Nintendo seeks broader mass-market appeal for Switch 2.

Nintendo shares are down more than 15 per cent so far this year.

Ahmedabad: MetaNinza, a rewards-first gaming and esports platform, has onboarded Anand Mishra as co-founder and chief of staff, signalling an ambitious push to scale its ecosystem across India and South East Asia.

Anand, a serial entrepreneur with 7+ years in consumer tech, blockchain and gaming, previously founded and led Glazer Labs, where he built Glazer Games and THRYL, a rewards-centric gamer engagement platform. Under his leadership, Glazer Games delivered 400 million+ impressions for 50+ brands, drove 10 million+ user acquisitions, executed hundreds of creator partnerships, and launched new esports IPs. THRYL amassed nearly half a million users in just two months. Anand also founded HECOD Blockchain, serving 400+ B2B clients globally and scaling to 8 million+ active users, with a $4.2 million ARR.

At MetaNinza, Anand will oversee growth, user acquisition, creator ecosystem building, tournaments and rewards distribution, and ensure alignment between product, tech, marketing and operations. His blockchain expertise is expected to strengthen secure, fair and anti-abuse reward systems across the platform.

“MetaNinza is building something truly differentiated by combining competitive esports, rewards-first daily engagement and community-led growth. What drew me most was their clarity of vision: to go beyond tournaments and build a full participation ecosystem where gamers engage meaningfully every day and are rewarded fairly,” said Anand Mishra.

The appointment comes as MetaNinza strengthens its platform foundations and expands its offerings, including tournaments, scrims, quests, coin wallets, offerwalls and anti-abuse frameworks. The company has also launched 16score.com, a global esports news platform aimed at boosting organic community growth. MetaNinza currently serves India-first users but plans to scale across South East Asia, targeting 600 million gaming enthusiasts in the region over the next three years.

Advertisement

“Anand brings a rare combination of ecosystem insight and execution discipline. His experience in building scalable gaming platforms is exactly what we need as MetaNinza enters its next growth phase,” said Sudhansu Sinha, founder and CEO of MetaNinza.

MetaNinza is positioning itself as a full-stack, community-first esports brand, combining competitive tournaments, teams, technology, content and social engagement into one end-to-end platform.

Gaming is no longer just play. With Anand on board, MetaNinza is turning competition, rewards and community into a high-speed growth engine.