The Electronic Sports World Cup was first held in 2003.
The event was created in France as an international multi-game esports competition. Its early editions brought together players from many countries for PC and console games, helping establish the idea of a global esports festival rather than a single-game league.
The competition was originally known as the Electronic Sports World Cup, commonly abbreviated ESWC. It later changed ownership and branding several times, and its format and game lineup evolved as the esports industry grew.
The ESWC is sometimes mixed up with the World Cyber Games, another major international multi-title competition. The World Cyber Games began earlier, in 2000, while the first ESWC took place in 2003. Early ESWC editions included games such as Counter-Strike, Warcraft III, and Unreal Tournament 2003.