Is Esports In The Olympics?

Many people are wondering if esports will be in the Olympics. The answer is complicated. Here’s what we know so far.

Introduction

The International Olympic Committee has been monitoring the growth of esports for some time, and the organisation has now expressed interest in including esports as an official medal event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

This would be a significant development for the young industry, and could help to legitimise esports in the eyes of many traditional sports fans. However, there are several issues that need to be considered before esports can be officially recognised by the IOC.

What is esports?

The rise of esports has been nothing short of meteoric. In just a few short years, the industry has grown from a niche pursuit to a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon. But despite its growing popularity, there is still some confusion about what exactly esports is.

Simply put, esports is competitive video gaming. Like traditional sports, esports athletes compete individually or as part of a team in organized tournaments and competitions. But unlike traditional sports, esports are played entirely online.

The most popular esport in the world is currently League of Legends, followed by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and Overwatch. These four games make up the bulk of the professional esport scene, with tournaments and leagues hosted around the world on an annual basis.

The case for esports in the Olympics

The esports industry is booming, with tournaments being hosted all over the world with huge prize pools. There are even some esport athletes that are making a living off of playing video games. So, with the popularity of esports, there has been a push to have it included in the Olympics. Let’s take a look at the case for esports in the Olympics.

The popularity of esports

The phenomenon of esports is a relatively new one, only having risen to prominence in the past few years. Nevertheless, it has quickly become a major force in the world of competitive gaming, with professional leagues and tournaments drawing in millions of viewers from all over the globe. Given its rapid growth and popularity, many have begun to wonder if esports could someday be featured as an official sport in the Olympic Games.

There is certainly a case to be made for esports being included in the Olympics. For one, there are already a number of Olympic-affiliated organizations that have expressed interest in exploring the possibility of adding esports to their lineup. The International Olympic Committee has even formed a working group to study the feasibility of including esports in future Games. Furthermore, the popularity of esports has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored by the mainstream sporting world.

That said, there are also a number of challenges that would need to be overcome before esports could be featured in the Olympics. For one, not all Olympic sports are well-suited to translation into an esports context. It remains to be seen if games like League of Legends or Dota 2 could capture the same sense of excitement and competition as traditional Olympic sports such as gymnastics or track and field. Moreover, there is also the question of whether or not professional gamers would be willing to participate in an event that does not offer any monetary rewards.

Ultimately, whether or not esports will be featured in future Olympic Games remains to be seen. However, there is no doubt that the popularity of competitive gaming has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored by the sporting world at large.

The global reach of esports

The global reach of esports is undeniable. In 2018, the total global esports audience was 380 million people, with year-over-year growth of 15%. Of that audience, 165 million people consider themselves to be avid fans, and 175 million are occasional viewers.

The most popular games in the esports world are “multiplayer online battle arenas” or MOBAs. The two most popular games in this genre are Riot Games’ League of Legends and Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch. Other popular genres include first-person shooters (FPS) such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive and multiplayer online battle royales (MOBR) such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).

The prize pools for esports tournaments have grown exponentially in recent years. In 2017, the total prize pool for all esports tournaments was $112 million. The largest single prize pool was for The International 7, a Dota 2 tournament hosted by Valve Corporation with a prize pool of $24.8 million. This same tournament had a prize pool of only $1.6 million in 2013, demonstrating the massive growth in just four years.

The potential for esports to grow the Olympic movement

The addition of esports to the Olympics would be a major coup for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is looking to appeal to a younger, digital-native audience.

While there are some who worry that the inclusion of video games in the Olympics would devalue the competition, there is no doubt that esports have a growing global audience. In fact, research firm Newzoo estimates that there will be nearly 500 million esports fans by 2021.

What’s more, the IOC has already shown an interest in incorporating gaming into the Olympics, with gaming competitions being held as part of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

With this in mind, it seems only natural that the IOC would eventually want to include esports as an official medal event. After all, with its growing popularity and global reach, esports has the potential to attract new fans and rejuvenate interest in the Olympic Games.

The case against esports in the Olympics

The International Olympic Committee recently announced that they are considering adding esports to the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, there are many reasons why this is a bad idea. First and foremost, esports is not a physical sport and therefore does not belong in the Olympics. Secondly, the Olympics are supposed to be a competition between the best athletes from all over the world, and most professional gamers are not even from countries that participate in the Olympics. Finally, the Olympics are supposed to be a celebration of fair play, and many professional gamers are known for cheating.

The lack of physicality in esports

The International Olympic Committee has yet to recognize esports as an official sport, and there are a few key reasons why. One of the biggest is the lack of physicality involved in most esports.

While some events, like Rocket League, do require some level of physicality, the vast majority of esports can be played without ever leaving your chair. This is a far cry from traditional sports like athletics, swimming, or even football, which all require a high level of physical fitness.

It’s not just the lack of physicality that’s holding esports back from the Olympics; it’s also the fact that most competitions are played online. This presents a number of logistical problems for organizers, who would need to find a way to get all competitors in one place to play.

And then there are the issues with cheating and match-fixing, which have plagued esports for years. These problems would need to be addressed before any major sporting event would consider recognizing esports.

So while it’s possible that we might see esports in the Olympics one day, it seems unlikely in the near future.

The lack of universality in esports

One of the main arguments against esports in the Olympics is the lack of universality in the sport. Unlike traditional sports like basketball or football, which are popular globally, esports is still largely confined to certain parts of the world. According to a recent report by Reuters, only 22% of people in the United States even know what esports is. In contrast, basketball has an 84% awareness rate in the US. This lack of awareness and popularity means that there are few people globally who would tune into an Olympic esports event.

Another issue with the universality of esports is that there are simply too many games to choose from. There are hundreds of different competitive video games out there, each with its own dedicated fanbase. It would be impossible to include all of them in the Olympics, and doing so would alienate fans of certain games.

The lack of tradition in esports

While there has been a recent surge in popularity of esports, the fact remains that the vast majority of people around the world are still unfamiliar with the concept. This is in stark contrast to traditional sports such as football, basketball, and gymnastics, which have been featured in the Olympics for many decades and are widely known and understood by people of all ages. As a result, many people feel that including esports in the Olympics would be a mistake, as it would cheapen the prestigious event and make it less relevant.

Conclusion

The International Olympic Committee has stated that they are open to the idea of esports in the Olympics, but there are no concrete plans as of yet. It is possible that we could see esports in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but nothing has been confirmed. For now, the Olympic Games and esports remain two separate entities, though that could change in the future.