The World Cyber Games (WCG) is an international esports competition that includes multiple games. Hundreds of esports athletes from countries around the world take part in different events, which are sometimes called the Esports Olympics. WCG events try to copy traditional sports tournaments, like the Olympic Games. These events include an official opening ceremony, and players from different countries compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals. WCG competitions are held every year in cities across the world. The WCG 2020 competition was watched by about 650 million people worldwide.

General

The World Cyber Games was one of the largest esports tournaments worldwide, with competitions in many countries. It was founded by Yoosup Oh, the CEO of International Cyber Marketing, and supported financially by Samsung. The event was called the "e-sports Olympics," featuring an official opening ceremony and players from different countries competing for gold, silver, and bronze medals. The tournament had an official mascot and used a logo inspired by the Olympic Games. Each participating country held preliminary competitions at a regional level, followed by national finals to select players who would represent their country in the main tournament. Spectators could watch events in person, and the tournament was also available to view online through video streams.

In addition to hosting competitions, the World Cyber Games served as a marketing platform. Sponsors like Samsung used the event to display product demonstrations and set up booths. Advertisers also used the event to reach young male audiences, who might not often see traditional television advertisements.

History

In 2000, the World Cyber Games was created. An event called "The World Cyber Game Challenge" began on October 7 with an opening ceremony. The event was supported by the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Information and Communications, and Samsung. Teams from 17 countries competed in PC games such as Quake III Arena, FIFA 2000, Age of Empires II, and StarCraft: Brood War. The tournament ended on October 15, 2000. There were 174 competitors from 17 countries, and the total prize money was $20,000.

In 2001, the World Cyber Games held its first main event in Seoul, Korea. The prize money was $300,000. National preliminary competitions took place between March and September, and the main tournament ran from December 5 to December 9. The event reported that 389,000 competitors participated in the preliminaries, with 430 players advancing to the final tournament. Teams from 24 countries took part.

In 2002, the World Cyber Games held a larger event in Daejeon, Korea. The prize money was $1,300,000. A total of 450,000 competitors participated in the preliminary events, and 450 players advanced to the final tournament. In 2003, the tournament was held again in Seoul. The prize money increased to $2,000,000, and it was the first event to include games played on consoles, such as Halo: Combat Evolved on the Xbox.

In 2004, the World Cyber Games held a tournament in San Francisco, California, United States. This was the first event outside of Korea. The prize money was $2,500,000, and 642 players competed in the grand final. Since then, the event has been held in many countries around the world, including Singapore in 2005 and Monza, Italy, in 2006. At this time, Microsoft became a major sponsor, providing software and hardware for the event through 2008. All games played at the tournament were on Windows PCs or the Xbox console.

In 2006, the prize money was $462,000. The event had 9 different competitions and 700 qualified participants from 70 countries.

In 2007, the event was held in Seattle, Washington, United States, with a total prize money of $4,000,000. In 2008, the tournament was held in Cologne, Germany. This was the first event to include a competition for mobile games, such as Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. In 2009, the tournament was held in Chengdu, China, and included a special promotion for the game Dungeon & Fighter. The event was also held at the same time as the World Cyber Games' first reality television show, WCG Ultimate Gamer. Season 2 of the show aired between August and October 2010.

In February 2014, the CEO, Brad Lee, announced that the World Cyber Games would close. Some partners said they had difficulty working with the CEO and the organization.

In March 2017, the former Samsung-owned WCG trademark was transferred to Korean publisher Smilegate. Plans were made to develop WCG into the world's top digital entertainment festival. The World Cyber Games 2018 was planned to be held in Bangkok from April 26 to 29, 2018, but was later cancelled. The World Cyber Games 2019 was held in Xi'an, China, from July 18 to 21, 2019. The WCG 2020 competition was viewed by nearly 650 million people worldwide.