While esports and competitive video gaming have traditionally not been considered a sport, the Olympic Movement began taking an interest as early as 2007, when esports was included at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games. In 2017, an Olympic Summit was held focused on the International Olympic Committee and esports. After an online-only Olympic Virtual Series was held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 in five sports, the IOC eventually announced the creation of the Olympic Esports Series, as part of the Olympic Esports Week, in November 2022. The inaugural edition was held in Singapore in June 2023, with a second edition planned for 2024.[2]
The events at the Olympic Esports Series have a connection with traditional Olympic sports, as the video game titles selected are chosen by international federations. There is a mix of both physical sport taking place in a virtual world, such as in Zwift, as well as sports-based video games such as Gran Turismo. The lack of traditional esports titles at the Olympic Esports Series, and the inclusion of lesser-known games representing traditional Olympic sports, has been the subject of criticism.
Unlike at the regular Olympic Games, medals and diplomas are not awarded at the Olympic Esports Series. The top three in each event are awarded gold-, silver-, and bronze-coloured trophies instead of medals.[3]
Traditional esports titles such as Counter-Strike, Dota, League of Legends, and Valorant have been considered to be "too violent" for inclusion in an Olympic-style esports competition.[5] An Olympic Summit was held in October 2017 to consider the possible adoption of esports by the Olympic Movement,[6] with a further IOC Esports Forum held in July 2018.[7] However, the lack of a single international federation to govern esports, a requirement for a sport to be recognised as an Olympic sport, along with the issue of violence in games, meant the IOC would not consider adding esports to the Olympic Games.[8]
After the COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021, the inaugural IOC-backed esports event, known as the Olympic Virtual Series, was announced for 2021.[10] Sports included in that were baseball, cycling, motorsport, rowing, and sailing[11] – four of which would return as part of the Olympic Esports Series in 2023.
A second Olympic Virtual Series was planned for 2022,[12] but did not take place, instead being replaced by the Olympic Esports Series.
Events and trophy winners of the 2021 Olympic Virtual Series
In November 2022, the IOC announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Week, set to be held in Singapore in June 2023, would include the in-person live finals of the 2023 Olympic Esports Series.[17] The initial nine game titles and sports were announced on 1 March 2023,[18] with a tenth event in shooting (Fortnite) added on 5 May.[19]
Some 131 finalists[15] took part in the Olympic Esports Week, which consisted of ten events in ten Olympic sports, while trophies were also awarded in an 11th event which had been held completely online.[16] The sports involved were archery, baseball, chess, cycling, dance, motorsport, sailing, shooting, taekwondo, and tennis. The game chosen for each sport was put forward by each international sports federation in conjunction with the game's publisher, except for Fortnite in shooting where Epic Games disclaimed any involvement.[19]
The Rocket League category featured two events: a men's show match between Karmine Corp and Gen.G and won by Karmine Corp, and a women's show match between G2 Luna and Williams Resolve, won by Resolve. Street Fighter 6 was held as a four-player double-elimination tournament, and eventually won by Thailand's Thum Homchuen.[35] That tournament also featured Hajime Taniguchi, aka Tokido, considered a legend in the Street Fighter esports scene.[36]NBA 2K23 was held as a single round-robin event with no official winner, and was contested by the national eFIBA teams of Philippines, Brazil, and Türkiye.[36]
Criticism
The primary criticism when the Olympic Esports Series was announced was the IOC's choice of game titles,[37][38] with only Gran Turismo and Just Dance having significant global recognition and Power Pros within Japan. The list of nine initial titles was described by Polygon as "odd", although the IOC's explanation was that the games chosen aligned with the Olympic Values and were proposed by international sports governing bodies.[39]
Many involved with the esports industry were unhappy with the game list, with The Guardian quoting a digital agency representative as saying: "Last week’s announcement left us feeling disappointed and, honestly, a little embarrassed. Instead of working with existing game publishers or well-established tournaments, it seems that the Olympic committee has instead decided to use this event as a marketing vehicle for brand-new, poorly thought out, unlicensed mobile games."[40] Gaming and esports website Dexerto reported on the online reaction, which saw esports fans responding negatively to the IOC's announcement on Twitter, describing the list of games as an "out-of-touch lineup".[41] Some of the criticism, from Western fans, was also directed at the fact that many of the games selected were mobile titles.[37]
However, there was some acceptance from the esports community over the IOC's reasoning for its game selection, including from Global Esports Federation vice-president Chester King, the chief executive of British Esports, who called it "a very sensible first approach" because "we've got to make sure all the stakeholders in the IOC accept it and like it".[38]
Additional criticism came after Fortnite was added to the game list for 2023, as the normal battle royale mode – featuring shooting at other characters – was removed in favour of a specially created format in which players would shoot targets instead.[42] In a video segment, IGN called it "the dumbest Olympic esport".[43]
After the conclusion of the first event, the lack of participation from African players was criticised, with an opinion piece in Kenya's Daily Nation questioning the decision of the IOC to use online qualifiers for the Olympic Esports Series, due to connectivity and stability issues in Africa which make staying connected to servers a "logistical challenge".[44]
Future
Following the conclusion of the inaugural event in Singapore, the IOC's head of virtual sports and esports Vincent Pereira said that Paris, as the host city of the 2024 Summer Olympics, had priority to host an edition of the Olympic Esports Series in 2024 if it wished, but that interest had also been received from Singapore to repeat as hosts as well as from Seoul, South Korea; Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates; New York City; and Shenzhen, China.[45] Studies suggest that tailoring Olympic Esports events to align with regional values of excellence, friendship, and respect could increase global acceptance and support.[46]
Despite criticism over excluding traditional esports titles deemed "too violent", the IOC also intends to keep first-person shooter games out of the Olympic Esports Series in the future, according to Pereira. Despite Fortnite having been included in the 2023 event in a specially modified format with targets, Pereira added the default format of Fortnite involving shooting other characters would not be considered.[34]
Future game additions could include Rocket League, the Street Fighter series, and the NBA 2K series, which all featured as exhibition events in 2023.[34]
However, the inclusion of esports as a sport at the main Olympic Games is not likely in the immediate future,[38] despite it having medal status at the Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games, as well as various esports World Championships being held for traditional sports, such as the Esailing World Championship, with the IOC's Pereira saying "they're two different worlds".[3]
This digital entertainment event can have a significant positive impact on competitive gaming globally, with the industry’s value expected to reach over $1 trillion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.60 percent during the forecast period 2023-2032, according to market research firm Inkwood Research.[47]
In June 2024, the IOC Executive Board announced that it would create an Olympic Esports Games, with the 142nd IOC Session held during the 2024 Summer Olympics due to vote on the proposal.[48] In July 2024, it was announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games would be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025, following a new partnership with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee.[49][50] The proposal was ultimately approved by a unanimous vote on 23 July 2024.[51]
Notes
↑ While French is the second official language of the Olympic Movement, the name of the Olympic Esports Series is not translated in French.[1]
↑ The sport of cycling included two events - ultimate chase race and 24-hour group ride. The 24-hour group ride event is non-competitive.
1 2 A sailing offshore event, considered part of the 2023 Olympic Esports Series, was held entirely online with no in-person finals,[16] and was open to players worldwide. This offshore event is not counted.
↑ Was not held as part of the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore, although the trophies were awarded in-person.
↑ Styled as the "ISSF Challenge featuring Fortnite", as Epic Games disclaimed involvement with the event.[32]
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↑ Lusigi, Ronny (29 June 2023). "Olympic Esports Week: Where was Africa?". Daily Nation. Retrieved 16 July 2023. Were the IOC and the respective International Federations aware of the logistical challenges of servers when they put out a blanket online qualifiers as the criteria of selecting the top gamers?
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