The first-ever Olympic Esports Games have been announced for 2025, and Saudi Arabia is preparing to host this groundbreaking event, making history in the field of esports.
In 2025, sports history will be made with the first-ever Olympic Esports Games, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced this exciting upcoming event, which combines the excitement of traditional sports with the improving esports world.
Details like the host city, event dates, player qualifications, and game titles are still being worked out. But here are the other details that you need to know about Olympic Esports Games, a groundbreaking event.
Olympic Esports Games: IOC's Partnership with the National Olympic Committee (NOC)
Saudi Arabia is an emerging country in terms of young gamers and is looking ahead with new ideas and partnerships. It's becoming a big center for professional esports worldwide. Prince Mohammed bin Salman is backing this move. Now, they're even planning to host the Olympic Esports Games, which is a big deal for both Saudi Arabia's young players and the global esports community.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has collaborated with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia for a groundbreaking initiative. This 12-year partnership will bring regular Olympic Esports Games.
IOC President Thomas Bach shared his excitement, noting the Saudi NOC's exceptional expertise in esports. He believes that the Olympic Esports Games will gain immensely from this collaboration.
The IOC plans to partner first with international federations and national Olympic committees already involved in digital sports and esports. They recently held a trial event featuring games like Gran Turismo, Fortnite, Just Dance, Zwift, and lesser-known mobile games. Now, they're considering adding popular esports like Rocket League, Street Fighter, and League of Legends to their lineup.
The Olympic Esports Games might happen every two years, with discussions about South Korea and the US hosting future events.
Well, after years of deliberation, the IOC is finally moving forward with organizing an official esports event. However, choosing Saudi Arabia to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games has sparked controversy due to the country's poor human rights record.
But keeping that aside, Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in esports and gaming, using these industries to improve its international image. Moreover, this is not the first time Saudi Arabia has done it.
In fact, in 2021, Saudi Arabia made significant investments in gaming. Prince Mohammed bin Salman poured over $3 billion into Take-Two, EA, and Activision Blizzard. By 2022, Mohammed bin Salman’s Electronic Gaming Development Company owned an impressive 96.18% of SNK, the developers behind King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, and Samurai Shodown.
To sum it up, the details for the Olympic Esports Games, like where and when it will happen, how players can qualify, and which games will be played, aren't set yet. But people around the world are excited for this big event to happen.
The idea of IOC teaming up with famous video games like Rocket League, Street Fighter, and League of Legends has already sparked a lot of excitement and we can't wait to see what's more in the store.