The inaugural installation of the Esports Nations Cup has been postponed to November 2027, as announced by the Esports World Cup Foundation.

The decision to postpone the event, originally slated to take place this November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was made "following an ongoing assessment of the wider regional situation, and after consultation with key stakeholders."

Earlier this year, the Esports World Cup was moved from Riyadh to Paris following an "extended evaluation process in light of the current regional situation".

"Over the coming weeks, EF will continue working closely with National Team Partners, publishers and other stakeholders to provide clarity on the revised competition calendar, qualification pathways and other implications of the new timeline," EF said in its release.

The event's Valorant competition was set to host 32 nations, with 16 receiving direct invites and 16 working through regional qualifiers. Those 16 teams, after working their way through qualifiers in Asia, Europe, Middle East & North Africa, North America, South America, Southeast Asia & Oceania, and Sub-Saharan Africa, will now have no event this year to show for it.

At the time, it is not publicly known what the implications of the postponement mean for teams that have already qualified. The language used in the release suggested that the event itself would simply be moved back by one year, but did not expand on whether this meant the 2026 rendition of the event, with its field of teams, was canceled.