People have been talking about the possible inclusion of video games in the Olympics for years.
We’re not there yet. That’s not what this story is about, though the topic of this piece could eventually lead to the inclusion of games at the Olympic level.
No, this is a piece about the Olympic Esports Series, a video game competition created and organised by the International Olympic Committee and various publisher partners. Essentially, the IOC settles on the digital sports it wants represented in the Olympic Esports Series and then works with publishers to secure what it views as sufficiently competitive games within those sports.
Here’s the full list of sports:
🎮 The #OlympicEsportsSeries games lineup:
🏹 Archery
⚾️ Baseball
♟️ Chess
🚴 Cycling
🕺 Dance
🏎️ Motor sport
⛵️ Sailing
🎾 Tennis
🥋 Taekwondo— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) March 1, 2023
Well, that’s not very specific, you might be saying to yourself. How many taekwondo games are there? And chess is already a tabletop game! Are we making Wii Sports an Olympic sport? Some of us would argue that it already is, given how seriously our families and friends used to take it.
Before you ask, no, Wii Sports is not among the games the IOC has put on its list for the Olympic Esports Series. Those games are:
Archery
Tic Tac Bow
Baseball
WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS
Chess
Chess.com
Cycling
Zwift
Dance
Just Dance
Motorsport
Gran Turismo 7
Sailing
Virtual Regatta
Taekwondo
Virtual Taekwondo
Tennis
Tennis: Clash
So, ok, there’s some interesting titles in this list. Some, like Gran Turismo 7 as the official motorsport title, make perfect sense. Of course GT is an Olympic-level sim — it’s not just a strong sim in its own right, it also has a great deal of brand recognition. Just Dance is, I mean, sure, why not? The IOC is not clear which version of Just Dance it plans to use, but I feel confident in saying whichever is the most recent edition.
But WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros? A little chibi baseballer that looks like a mobile game? When you have MLB The Show right there? Wild. And Tic Tac Bow? I get it, the game has a thriving competitive scene, but I guess I wouldn’t have picked it for inclusion here.
Zwift just looks like a Peloton with an aggressively competitive streak.
Anyway, there you go. If you’ve ever wondered which games might pass muster if they were selected by the International Olympic Committee, now you have your answer. The Olympic Esports Series began yesterday, March 1, and will continue through next few months of qualification rounds. All roads lead to the Finals, which will be held in Singapore during the first-ever Olympic Esports Week from June 22-25, 2023.
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