IOC Makes Olympic Esports Games Official

International Olympic Committee officially approves Esports Olympic Games

The International Olympic Committee made good on its promise earlier this year to create an official Olympic Esports Games. On Tuesday at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris, the IOC Executive Board voted unanimously to form the Olympic Esports Games, with the first event to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025. The official formation of the esports-focused Olympic Games follows news earlier this month that the IOC had signed a 12-year deal with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia for the games to be hosted in the country.

IOC President Thomas Bach said:

“This is truly a new era for the IOC. With the confirmation by the IOC Session of the creation of the Olympic Esports Games, we are keeping up with the pace of the digital revolution. The esports community, represented in our Esports Commission, has enthusiastically engaged with this initiative. This is further proof of the attractivity of the Olympic brand and the values it stands for among young people. The NOC of Saudi Arabia will bring great – if not unique – experience in the field of esports to this project. This partnership is based on the Olympic Charter and the Olympic values.”

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Minister of Sport, president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and president of the Saudi Esports Federation, said in part:

“Thanks to Vision 2030 introduced by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, esports in Saudi Arabia already have a rich past, an exciting present and a promising future. And the reason why is the same reason why we are investing across all sports – our young people. Our commitment to esports is simply a reflection of the world our young people live in, and we now all have the chance to write new Olympic history together. The chance to inspire new dreams and new ambitions for literally millions of athletes around the world.”

The Esports Advocate has heard for a few weeks that game IP owners were already in talks with the government about the Esports Olympic Games, including Riot Games. TEA reached out to Riot last week concerning possible discussions with the Saudi government about including Riot’s titles in next year’s Olympic Games—but the company declined to comment.

Sources have told TEA that no games involving gunplay will be included, but titles being floated as possible contenders include MOBAs such as Teamfight Tactics and League of Legends, fighting games such as Street Fighter, and other high-profile sports simulation and racing games such as Rocket League.

The IOC took heavy criticism in 2023 when it offered a series of competitions for the Olympic Esports Series using virtually unknown games that had financial ties to sports federations or esports federations such as Tic Tac Bow and Virtual Taekwondo. The IOC appears to have gotten the memo and is moving towards at least highlighting some mainstream titles, assuming they—along with stakeholders—can hash out the details.

Another concern among critics is that the IOC did not follow its own human rights framework when it selected Saudi Arabia as a host country for the next 12 years, with critics noting that the only thing that motivated the decision was an undisclosed amount of money. Saudi Arabia has been criticized by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for its treatment of political prisoners, many of whom are women publicly supporting women’s rights, such as Manahel al-Otaibi.

More details on the IOC’s human rights framework are detailed in this Twitter/X thread from activist Frank Conde Tangberg.