The inaugural Olympic Esports Games will now take place in 2027.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced plans for an Olympic Esports Games in October 2023, and initially announced the first Olympic Esports Games would be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025.
Now, however, as EsportsInsider reports, the competition has been delayed to 2027 “due to ongoing concerns about the format and a lack of details on key aspects of the programme by game publishers,” as well as issues with financing and logistics.
It’s thought the competition will be hosted in Saudi Arabia for both the 2027 games and two subsequent Olympic cycles (2031 and 2035).
Organisers the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) will also become a Founding Partner of the Olympic Esports Games where, with the IOC itself, it will work to “align national esports ecosystems with broader global standards.”
“There is now a very clear roadmap to the historic first-ever Olympic Esports Games,” said Thomas Bach, president of the IOC.
“With the Road to the Olympic Esports Games starting this year, the Games are becoming a reality. This is further evidence of the strength of the partnership between the IOC and the SOPC in many areas.”
Esports featured in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but will not appear in the 2026 event.
Saudi Arabia has been more and more active in the games and esports industry over the past few years, having invested $38 billion via its Public Investment Fund. The PIF has stakes in companies including Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Nexon and Capcom.
These investments have been controversial due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, most notably on gender inequality and the criminalization of homosexuality, which is punishable by life imprisonment or execution.