Vote passes unanimously at 142nd IOC Session
Vote passes unanimously at 142nd IOC Session
The International Olympic Committee has officially approved the creation of the Olympic Esports Games in a unanimous vote at the 142nd IOC Session on July 23rd.
Following the vote the IOC announced the first edition of the games will be held in 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Esports World Cup is currently underway in Riyadh.
This is a historic ruling for Esports of all kinds, and comes just after EA SPORTS NHL announced that the NHL Gaming World Championship would be on hold after seven years with no announcement on when or if it will return.
While there has not yet been an official announcement of what games will be included in the new event Rod "Slasher" Breslau, an Esports consultant and journalist, speculates likely games will include League of Legends, Rocket League, Street Fighter, Tekken, iRacing, NBA2K, FIFA, and other mobile games.
This list of games includes three sports games, with no mention of the NHL franchise. While NHL 25 is unlikely to be included and the NHL GWC now on hold, it would be beneficial to hockey as whole if the sport received more exposure in an IOC sanctioned event.