Sponsored: Olympic Esports Games Postponed to 2027; Qualifiers Begin This Year

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For a long time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been exploring the inclusion of esports in the Olympics, and they finally confirmed that it’s happening. Initially, the inaugural Olympic Esports Games was set to happen this year, but the IOC recently announced that it would be postponed until 2027.

Sports Business reported this delay, and according to them, the organisers need more time to establish a new hosting and financing model - “Game publishers had raised concerns over the right 2025 timeline, citing the lack of confirmed game titles, venues, dates, and qualification method.”

The Push to Get Esports in the Olympics

The push for the inclusion of esports in the Olympics mostly started during the Esports forum in 2018 held in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The forum brought together diverse stakeholders, including gaming executives, professional esports players, sponsors, event organisers, and representatives from traditional sports and the Olympic community. Notable attendees included Nicolo Laurent, CEO of Riot Games, and Mike Morhaime, President of Blizzard Entertainment.

Several presentations were made by industry experts, highlighting the rapid growth of esports, its global reach, and appeal to younger audiences. Since then, the IOC has been convinced of its potential, and to test the waters, they launched the Olympic Virtual Series. However, this only included virtual sports competitions in baseball, cycling, rowing, sailing, and motorsport.

The goal of the Olympic Virtual Series was to bridge the gap between traditional sports and actual Esports. It was a success with nearly 250,000 participants, and this played a significant role in the IOC's proceeding with the Esports Olympics.

The announcement confirming the Esports Olympics came last year with the IOC’s president, Thomas Bach, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC).

There is now an obvious roadmap to the historic first-ever Olympic Esports Games. With the Road to the Olympic Esports Games starting this year, the Games are becoming a reality. This is further evidence of the strength of the IOC and the SOPC partnership in many areas. Today, the journey to the first-ever Olympic Esports Games is clear, with an immediate timeline that works for all parties and sees the Road to Olympic Esports Games start in 2025. With the IOC, there is real momentum, unity, and clarity on the way forward, with the focus now on delivering. Already, Saudi Arabia is looking forward to welcoming the world and playing its part in helping the dreams of so many esports athletes come true.
Thomas Bach said.

Having Saudi Arabia, particularly Riyadh, on board makes sense because the country has actively participated in esports tournaments. They’ve also invested $38 billion in the games industry and now have stakes in big gaming companies like Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Nexon, and Capcom.

Possible Games Included in the Olympic Esports Games

Since the Esports Olympics was confirmed, nothing has been reported on which games will be included. However, Insider Gaming shared their insights into what major games could make it.

That includes League of Legends (LOL), Rocket League, Street Fighter, Tekken, iRacing, NBA 2k, and FIFA. There have been discussions and debates about including actual Esports games that are already thriving and popular in viewership and sports betting. Esports tournaments on games like Counter-Strike, DOTA, and VALORANT are already popular on the 10CRIC app and other betting platforms, but the IOC has already commented on this.

They deemed these games too violent for inclusion in an Olympic-style competition. According to them, they want to prioritise games that align more closely with the Olympics’ values.

Conclusion

So far, the reaction to the delay in the Olympic Esports Games has been mixed. Some stakeholders have expressed understanding, but others are disappointed.

The Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) Executive Director, Marlin Marcelo welcomes this as a good development. “It's hard to prepare something that you don't have any idea of, specifically thegames. So, knowing there’s clamour for the first Esports Olympics must be done right. The two-year gap gives us ample time to prepare for whatever kinds of games that will be included.”

The disappointment mostly came from members of the Esports community, as this has been a highly anticipated event.

However, they still have something to look forward to this year. Reports have been made that qualifiers will still start this year. This means the likeliness of determining which games will be part of the Esports Olympics will be announced sometime this year.