Olympic Esports Games 2025 in Saudi Arabia delayed

The first-ever Olympic Esports Games, originally set to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025, has been delayed. 

As reported by SportsBusiness, the event is now planned for 2026 or 2027, as organisers need more time to establish a new hosting and financing model.  

The delay comes after game publishers raised concerns about the tight 2025 timeline, citing uncertainties over game titles, venues, dates, and qualification methods. A new date for the event is not yet confirmed but is expected to be announced later this year. 

Pocketgamer.biz has reached out for comment.

Esports and the Olympic values 

In 2018, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach had his doubts about including esports in the Olympics as he claimed that the violence inherent to many popular video games simply isn’t compatible with Olympic values.

“We cannot have in the Olympic program a game which is promoting violence or discrimination,” said Bach during the 2018 Asian Games. “They, from our point of view, are contradictory to the Olympic values and cannot, therefore, be accepted.”

Many of today’s competitive esports games, such as Valorant, Call of Duty, PUBG, and Fortnite, feature elements of violence, which raises concerns about their compatibility with Olympic values. This could explain why uncertainty over approved game titles is a contributor to the event’s delay.

A change of heart?

The IOC partnered with Saudi Arabia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) in July 2024 to propose hosting the first Olympic Esports Games in 2025. The partnership will last 12 years, with regular Olympic Esports Games held throughout that period. 

“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 programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports,” said Bach.