The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a 12-year agreement to host the new eSports Olympic Games in Saudi Arabia.
The IOC confirmed the first edition will be staged in 2025 and will give gamers the opportunity to represent their nation on the biggest stage.
The deal must be signed off by the IOC membership, which meets before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Approval is expected to be a formality.
Professional gaming is firmly in the spotlight at the moment, with Saudi Arabia currently staging the 2024 eSports World Cup in Riyadh.
Fans searching for live sports today have the option to watch some of the world’s best gamers showcase their talents across various streaming platforms.
The opportunity to compete at the Olympics will be an enticing prospect for eSports athletes, providing them with the sporting legitimacy they have previously been denied.
Olympic recognition has not come easy for the global gaming community, with the IOC previously expressing concern about the content in some of the games.
However, IOC President Thomas Bach has confirmed that the games included in the programme will ensure that ‘Olympic values are respected’.
The Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, welcomed the IOC’s announcement.
“Saudi Arabia is hugely excited by the prospect of partnering with the IOC and helping to welcome a completely new era for international sport,” he said. “We believe that to take part in the Olympic Games is one of the greatest honours any athlete can achieve.
“And we are proud to support the writing of a new chapter in Olympic history that has the potential to inspire new dreams and new ambitions for literally millions of athletes around the world.”
Saudi Arabia’s youthful and technologically savvy population has jumped on the gaming bandwagon in recent years, with the country boasting around 23 million gamers.
Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has unsurprisingly been eager to capitalise on this burgeoning phenomenon.
Saudi Arabia has ploughed significant resources into creating an infrastructure designed to make the country a global powerhouse in the gaming sector.
This investment is part of the country’s wide-ranging social and economic transformation which operates under the ‘Vision 2030’ banner.
Saudi Arabia has become a ‘go-to’ destination for numerous organisations in traditional sports, and moving into the eSports arena is a natural progression.
It is estimated that more than two-thirds of Saudi citizens view themselves as gamers and they now have a pathway to represent their nation at Olympic level.
A key factor in the IOC’s decision to sanction eSports as an Olympic event is the growing number of females who are part of the global gaming community.
The IOC will now begin work on selecting a host city and venue for the inaugural Olympic eSports Games, with Riyadh the firm favourite to get the nod.
The final programme of games is also yet to be confirmed, but could include Football Manager 25, EA FC 25, Rocket League and other traditional sports focused titles.
First-person shooters such as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike 2 will likely be omitted, despite both games having massive worldwide fanbases.
These games do not reflect the values the IOC wishes to project, a stance that has attracted criticism from the global gaming community.
Despite this, Olympic recognition will undoubtedly boost the gaming industry’s profile at a time when it has been facing some serious challenges.
Almost 21,000 jobs have been lost worldwide over the past 18 months as companies embark on what some analysts have described as a ‘reset’ in the sector.
However, given that gaming is firmly established as one of the most popular entertainment pastimes worldwide, its future still appears to be bright.
Olympic recognition has helped many other so-called ‘niche genres’ flourish and the same will likely apply when the eSports Games are launched next year.
Saudi investment should also help gaming flourish, particularly as other established jurisdictions battle to retain their share of the lucrative pie.
