If there was one thing we didn’t expect from 2024 it was the announcement of esports Olympics. Starting in 2025 and taking place over several years, they won’t be traditional Olympics, as they have hinted. The problem is that they haven’t provided many details about it. That has led us to speculate. What games should we expect to see in these Olympics?
Before going into details, it is important to clarify that the IOC has already explored the idea of organizing the Olympic Games for electronic sports. In 2023, they organized a week of the Olympic Games for electronic sports, where they selected a series of games in which the athletes competed. That’s where we’ll start. We will discuss the games that participated during that week and speculate which ones are likely to be included, and then we will mention those that do not seem to be aligned with the spirit that the IOC seeks, but that should still be included. After all, they will be part of the Olympic Games, although electronic sports are a very specific phenomenon. Whether the IOC likes it or not.
As mentioned, during 2023 an esports week was held as part of the Olympic Games. Represented through a series of virtual sports, it is expected that these sports will return again for the 2025 Olympic Games. However, we warn that they may not be the games that most people would expect.
Divided among archery, baseball, chess, cycling, dance, driving, sailing, shooting, taekwondo, and tennis, the chosen video games to represent these sports are, to say the least, peculiar. Tic Tac Bow, WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS, Chess.com, Zwift, Just Dance, Gran Turismo, Virtual Regatta, an unnamed game created for the occasion, Virtual Taekwondo, and Tennis Clash were the chosen ones. Perhaps representing the Olympic spirit, but not so much the spirit of eSports.
Following what we have already seen, it is expected that more sports that are already common within the Olympic Games will be added. We will probably see basketball, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, athletics, and all kinds of ball games. Now, which games will they choose to represent them?
In another time it would have been a big problem, but it is true that right now there is practically a monopoly within each sport. In football we have EA Sports FC 25. In basketball we have NBA 2K25. In American football we have NFL 2K5. And there is no alternative. While for other sports, you can always resort to mobile games, or perhaps less known titles outside their particular niches.
The problem, once again, is that while this may feel Olympic, it hardly feels like an eSport. After all, when we talk about eSport, we are not talking about competing in Zwift or Just Dance. Even if it is perfectly legitimate for them to be considered as such. We are talking about a different kind of games that, due to their competitive scene, have become games that have attracted a whole competitive scene around them. And those are the ones that the IOC should not forget if they want to succeed.
Among these games, we would love to see competitions of StarCraft 2, Counter-Strike 2, Valorant. Clan of Clash already has a vibrant competitive scene from which to take advantage of its structure. There is a whole array of fighting games to choose from, but not having at least Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 represented would feel like it’s not an eSports event at all. And although this generates obvious logistical problems, League of Legends and DOTA 2 events, even in parallel, could be the icing on the cake.
This is what remains to be seen if the IOC understands. That esports are not just video games that adapt sports. They are also video games that are sports in themselves. Like chess, being a sport, whether digitalized or not.
They haven’t clarified much about how they plan to manage all of this. It’s not just that everything is open, it’s perfectly possible that they have already thought about it. In any case, this is what we wish and hope they are aware of. Let the IOC know that sports and esports are different things. And if they want to turn esports into an Olympic event, treat them with the dignity they deserve.
