Traditional esports titles such as
Counter-Strike,
Dota,
League of Legends, and
Valorant have been considered to be "too violent" for inclusion in an Olympic-style esports competition. An Olympic Summit was held in October 2017 to consider the possible adoption of esports by the Olympic Movement, with a further IOC Esports Forum held in July 2018. However, the lack of a single international federation to govern esports, a requirement for a sport to be recognised as an
Olympic sport, along with the issue of
violence in games, meant the IOC would not consider adding esports to the
Olympic Games. Other sporting events, such as the
Asian Games held by the
Olympic Council of Asia and the
Southeast Asian Games, recognise esports as a medal event. It was first added to a major Games at the
2007 Asian Indoor Games, and became a full medal event of the Asian Games starting with the
2022 Asian Games, and the Southeast Asian Games starting with the
2019 SEA Games. After the
COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of the
2020 Summer Olympics to 2021, the inaugural IOC-backed esports event, known as the Olympic Virtual Series, was announced for 2021. Sports included in that were baseball, cycling, motorsport,
rowing, and sailing – four of which would return as part of the Olympic Esports Series in 2023. A second Olympic Virtual Series was planned for 2022, but did not take place, instead being replaced by the Olympic Esports Series. Studies suggest that tailoring Olympic Esports events to align with regional values of excellence, friendship, and respect could increase global acceptance and support. Despite criticism over excluding traditional esports titles deemed "too violent", the IOC also intends to keep
first-person shooter games out of the Olympic Esports Series in the future, according to Pereira. Despite
Fortnite having been included in the 2023 event in a specially modified format with targets, Pereira added the default format of
Fortnite involving shooting other characters would not be considered. Future game additions could include
Rocket League, the
Street Fighter series, and the
NBA 2K series, which all featured as exhibition events in 2023. In June 2024, the IOC Executive Board announced that it would create an Olympic Esports Games, with the
142nd IOC Session held during the 2024 Summer Olympics due to vote on the proposal. In July 2024, it was announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games would be held in
Saudi Arabia, following a new partnership with the
Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee. The proposal was ultimately approved by a unanimous vote on 23 July 2024. International sporting events such as the
Asian Games, as already mentioned, had already established esports competitions. On 11 February 2025, the IOC announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games were to be held in 2027 instead of 2025, still planned to be held in Riyadh. as well as the namesake
Esports World Cup (for individual esports clubs such as
T1 and
Virtus.pro). It is currently unknown if the inaugural Games will still be held in 2027, although Singapore and South Korea have been pointed as potential host countries to replace Saudi Arabia. ==Host city requirements==