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Esports have been a thing for a while now, competitions where the elite gamers of the world come together to find out who’s the best. Now, the International Olympic Committee has decided it wants to get it on the fun and will be launching the first ever Esports Olympic Games in 2025. The host country for the first games, and indeed for the next 12 years, will be Saudi Arabia. The IOC has been considering esports for the games as far back as 2007, but in 2022 the world finally began to see their inclusion. Olympic esports are a mix of virtual simulations of real life sports, like shooting, and games like Gran Turismo, where players race in a virtual environment.
So, why Saudi Arabia? The country is a hotbed for esports tournaments and professional video game playing. The IOC believes that Saudi Arabia is uniquely equipped to help pioneer this initiative. Here’s a bit more from them about the partnership:
By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.
If you’d like to see what’s happening with esports at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, hit up this link, and if you’d like to read the IOC’s entire statement about its partnership with Saudi Arabi, click here. It’s yet another pivotal point of validation for video games as legitimate entertainment and, now, competition.
