The first-ever Olympic Esports Games (OEG) will be staged in Saudi Arabia if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) membership rubberstamps plans during its Session July 23 in Paris. Friday’s announcement by the IOC comes during the high-profile eight-week Esports World Cup set in the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh that will run parallel to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The IOC and Saudi Arabia’s national Olympic committee signed the 12-year deal that includes the inaugural event now planned for 2025 and future events to be “held regularly” according to a statement. It is not clear if the agreement cements Saudi Arabia as Games host through the contract that will run until 2036.
In a statement the IOC said work will begin to select a city and venue to host the first OEG and to set a schedule, the titles to be included and the qualification process. Details of the agreement, including any financial arrangements with the oil-rich Kingdom, have not been released.
The IOC launched plans to organize the Olympic Esports Games last month, at the same time underlining that it would be “separated from the organizational and financial model for the Olympic Games” in order maintain the funding and governance structures for traditional sports and its sponsors. Officials said a “new dedicated structure with its organization” would need to be developed to address “the specific nature” of the Esports Games.
In short, the OEG will require its own source of revenue and won’t have access to funds from the lucrative global Olympic sponsorships and broadcast deals. But funding doesn’t seem to be an issue for Riyadh’s World Cup event where an eye-watering prize pool of USD $60 million is up for grabs including payouts to teams just for qualifying to compete.
The financial security behind Saudi Arabia’s offer will be key to ensuring the viability of the Games for at least a decade to come, avoiding a possible one-and-done scenario if the Olympics version of esports presents as unpopular.
The Olympic Esports Week trial event staged last year in Singapore was touted as a success by the IOC but was criticized by a majority of esports gamers for the lack of compelling titles on offer. The IOC’s model included only non-violent Games with an emphasis on sport simulations with links to existing traditional Olympic sport federations. So instead of the popular first-person shooter game Overwatch, the IOC offered titles such as Tic-Tac-Bow, an archery simulation.
Last month IOC President Thomas Bach re-emphasized the IOC’s policy, saying that the OEG would strictly adhere to Olympic values and not cross the “red line” to games that exhibit violence.
In Riyadh, the World Cup event offers 22 titles including the popular Call of Duty: Warzone and Apex Legends – both that are well beyond Bach’s red line. In fact, only three titles meet with Olympic values, those include Rocket League, ESL Racing and FC24 football. Other combat games such as Tekken 8 and Street Fighter might straddle that line.
Bach said Friday “We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi NOC on the Olympic Esports Games, because it has great – if not unique – expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders. The Olympic Esports Games will greatly benefit from this experience.”
“By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the program, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.”
The deals positions Saudi Arabia as a juggernaut in international esports for the foreseeable future, but critics might claim this to be more “sportswashing” to cover the Kingdom’s alleged human rights abuses. The OEG adds to its inventory of top-tier sports events accumulated over the past decade.
These include major events such as F1 racing, boxing and tennis competitions, the 2027 football Asian Cup, the 2029 Asian Winter Games at the newly built Trojena ski resort in the desert, the Riyadh 2034 Asian Games and the proposed 2034 FIFA World Cup likely to be awarded to Saudi Arabia in December.
Saudi Arabia is also believed to be among nations in ongoing discussions with the IOC to host the 2036 Olympic Games that would be staged just as the OEG contract is set to expire.
The IOC said they will build the esports program with the help of international sport federations that already work with a publisher with an “e-version” of their sport, and national Olympic committees that have been engaged in esports.
