Fortnite is now an official Olympic (e)sport, as Epic’s metaverse game will be part of the inaugural Olympic Esports Week line-up. Taking place in Singapore, the four-day festival of “virtual sports and gaming” created by the International Olympics Committee will see a dozen players from the Fortnite Champion Series compete in a sharpshooting competition backed by the International Shooting Sport Federation.
This event will be (virtually) held on a Fortnite Creative Island that was created just for the event and will showcase the marksmanship of Fortnite’s best sharpshooters. If you can’t make it to Singapore on June 24, the competition will be livestreamed through the official Olympics website and through the organization’s social media channels.
In addition to Fortnite, other games included at the event are Gran Turismo, Just Dance, Zwift Cycling, and web chess. There will also be digital takes on archery, baseball, sailing, taekwondo, and tennis. This is all part of an initiative to broaden the appeal of the long-running sporting body by connecting with gaming and esports communities across the world.
The last couple of years have seen a concerted effort by the IOC to connect with gamers, starting with the Olympic Virtual Series in 2021. While you probably won’t see anyone competing for an Olympic gold medal in Fortnite that’s on par with the more-physical sports typically seen during an Olympics event, Fortnite is easily the biggest game to feature in the Olympics and could potentially expand the reach of the IOC’s Esports Series.
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