Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, has revealed why Fortnite wasn’t included as part of the 2025 edition of the Esports World Cup.
The free-to-play battle royale title appeared in 2024 in the form of ESL Featuring Fortnite.
When speaking to the Saudi Arabian television channel Al Ekhbariya, Reichert claims Fortnite “lacks competitive tools” and “doesn’t have a huge competitive ecosystem,” as one of the factors that resulted in the title not being selected.
“Fortnite is an amazing game and has a huge community, but it’s not really purpose-built for competition at this point,” said Reichert. “That’s why the decision was to not include it. We’ll re-evaluate for 2026.”
While Fortnite didn’t appear at the Esports World Cup, its esports ecosystem has continued to grow throughout 2025. This year’s edition of the FNCS Pro-Am event recorded over 600,000 peak viewers, while the 2024 edition of the FNCS Global Championship peaked at 809,000.
Outside of the top tier of its esports circuit, Fortnite developer and publisher Epic Games continues to provide players with a platform to compete across the title’s wide selection of game modes.
As part of the Chapter 6 Season 4 update, it unveiled the Champions Road tournament series, where players can earn cash prizes and in-game cosmetics before they’re available to purchase from the in-game store.
Does Fortnite Need The Esports World Cup?
With its esports circuit continuing to show signs of growth, Fortnite’s inclusion at the Esports World Cup will neither make nor break its competitive scene.
Hosting a tournament at the event has the potential to add to the impressive variety of titles hosting competitions in Saudi Arabia. However, with FNCS viewing figures being steady, there’s every chance Fortnite’s battle royale modes won’t feature at the Esports World Cup anytime soon.
