We’ve had a lot of news that registers pretty high on the Richter Scale this week, including information coming out of FIFA about World Cup bidding requirements and the news about the five showcase sports for Los Angeles. But the biggest, and it broke this week, was the IOC’s announcement that it is exploring plans for the creation of Olympic Esports Games.
It’s not just a rumor. The IOC itself noted that the ground-breaking announcement was made by IOC President Thomas Bach during the Opening Ceremony of the 141st IOC Session taking place in Mumbai, India, in the presence of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
The IOC had long delayed making any kind of decision on esports. Enthusiasts of gaming believed the IOC had simply ignored the issue until it became too big (and, in all likelihood too lucrative) to ignore. Additionally, the organization has long expressed a desire to grow its youthful fanbase, and esports is certainly going to play into that.
Inside The Games reported that Bach also urged a change of mindset to exploit the opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI). He discussed the increasing prominence of esports within the Olympic Movement, including the first Olympic Esports Week in Singapore earlier this year. Bach wants the recently-established Esports Commission led by International Cycling Union and French National Olympic and Sports Committee President David Lappartient to explore the creation of an Olympic Esports Games.
"This was a promising start, but it is just that - a start," Bach said. "It is like in any sport - after the promising start, the real race still lies ahead. To compete successfully in this race, I have asked our new IOC Esports Commission to study the creation of the Olympic Esports Games.”
Inside The Games further noted that there is no definitive date for the launch of the Olympic Esports Games and that no further details have been announced about its format.
Olympic Esports Week, which was held in Singapore from June 22-25, 2023, followed on from the online-only Olympic Virtual Series launched in 2021. The IOC has hailed its Olympic Esports Week as a success, pointing to 500,000 unique participants in the wider Olympic Esports Series, more than six million views on live channels and the attendance of more than 130 participants across 10 events in Singapore.
In years past, Bach has noted that if and when the IOC decides to endorse esports, it will be with the understanding that games included would be based on actual sports and would not include games based on violence.
In other words, Fortnite, Dota 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty and so on would be programa not grata. (And unfortunately, those are among the most popular titles in the gaming industry. But Olympic Esports Week used a variety of titles that covered various sports, and not all gamers were happy about them, with Finn Partners noting, “Instead of widely watched games like League of Legends, Valorant or Fortnite, the selection consisted of simulations and analogues of real-world sports and activities, such as Virtual Regatta, Tic Tac Bow, and Virtual Taekwondo. Gamers were confronted by some familiar titles such as Gran Turismo and Just Dance, but the majority of games included in Olympic Esports Week left many gamers puzzled. Perhaps gamers would have been more accepting if this was called “Olympic Virtual Sports Week” instead of using the term of esports.”
Some sports have already managed to incorporate esports. For example, in 2021, US Youth Soccer announced a new esports event, Rise of Champions Rocket League Tournament. For those not in the know, Rocket League is a sport-based video game, with some fantasy elements (it's rocket-powered soccer with cars instead of players – but with the same goal: move the ball down the field and score).
It is likely this is more in keeping with the IOC’s vision. Other sports, currently not associated with the Olympics, have esports versions; fishing is one of these.
It will be interesting to see how the Olympic Esports Games develop, including whether they return to the previous host city of Singapore, or whether they venture out into other areas. According to the Australian Esports League (AEL), the top five countries dominating the esports scene are (from 1 through 5) South Korea, China, Denmark, the USA and Sweden.
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