Nice, la joie d’accueillir l’EVO Europe
La Concurrence, lorsque chaque année à Las Vegas et Tokyo, finally has the right to a European edition. Son premiere edition se tiendra à Nice en octobre 2025.
Des images of the Riviera and the promenade des Anglais filmed with the drone, an epic music… all in a few seconds trailer that has already made a lot of noise in the United States and Europe. This is La premièère edition of the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), a mythical combat video game competition. Created more than 20 years ago, the event was previously the prerogative of the American and Asian continents. The officialization, made last night in Las Vegas at the close of the show, will delight French fans, as it is in a tricolor city that was chosen: Nice will host spectators and players from around the world in the enclosure of its Palais des Sports from October 10th to 12th, 2025.
On this occasion, the 17,000 m² of the building will be entirely dedicated to the world of « versus fighting » games, including flagship licenses from the 1990s such as Mortal Kombat, Tekken, or Street Fighter, adored by the general public. In 2021, the event was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the subsidiary of the Japanese giant that develops, produces, and markets the PlayStation brand of consoles and video games. The arrival of EVO in France is the result of a partnership between Sony, the e-sports company RTS, and the French media and influence group Webedia.
« The goal is for EVO Europe to be renewed every year »
This is a project that has been maturing in the minds of its creators for several years, finally realized a few months ago. Announced for 2025, the European version of the competition will have to prove itself. « The goal is obviously for EVO Europe to be renewed every year. The reactions of the communities will be quick, we will be able to test their enthusiasm, » rejoices Bertrand Amar, director of e-sport activities at Webedia.
The EVO organizers set their sights on France for very specific reasons. « They wanted a pleasant and touristy destination, » he details. Open to everyone, amateur and professional player alike, the competition « welcomes players from around the world and attaches great importance to its community side ». It also takes the form of a convention: players, even those eliminated on the first day, often stay the entire weekend to watch matches, chat with participants from other backgrounds, or follow interviews with professionals, including developers or editors.
Nice, epicenter of e-sports
This is a real opportunity for the city on the Mediterranean coast, whose mayor Christian Estrosi and the president of the Sud region have long supported this booming sector. « Christian Estrosi has the desire to host e-sports events with big budgets, and Renaud Muselier has announced his intention to make the Sud region a national pilot territory for e-sports, » explains Bertrand Amar.
Especially at a time when the EVO is gaining strength year after year. The record number of participants was broken with over 10,000 unique players competing at the Las Vegas Convention Center this weekend. And this, in a particularly tense climate for electronic gaming conventions, marked by the cancellation last December of the legendary E3. But combat video games continue to thrive. Sometime in 2025, the publisher of the game League Of Legends, Riot Games, will unveil its first project of its kind. « This is highly anticipated, when you see the success of Valorant [its first shooter game launched in 2020], you understand why. »
Named « 2XKO », this new project will allow players to fight in teams, two against two, embodying characters from its star franchise. And among the producers, nothing less than the two creators of EVO, Tom and Tony Cannon. The opening of ticket sales for the very first European edition of EVO is scheduled for the end of 2024, as is the announcement of the games on which it will be possible to compete.
