The first edition of the Olympic Esports Games will be held in 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For the organisation of the Games, the IOC has partnered with the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia for 12 years.
The IOC has been engaging with esports in a holistic way since 2018. This culminated in the organisation of Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in 2023. As a result of the success of this event, the IOC President asked the IOC Esports Commission to study the creation of the Olympic Esports Games. A final proposal was then made by the IOC Executive Board, and this was approved by the 142nd IOC Session in Paris in July 2024.
Following the approval of the proposal, work has begun to select a city and venue for the event and determine the timing of competitions, the game titles to be included on the programme, the qualification process for the players and further details.
The IOC has emphasised that International Federations already engaged in an e-version of their sport that is considered for inclusion in the Olympic Esports Games will be the IOC’s first go-to partners. The same will be true for National Olympic Committees that already include esports in their activities.
In order to address the specific nature of the Olympic Esports Games, the IOC will also have to take a different approach with regard to the financing and organisation of these Games.