The inaugural Esports Games, which was initially scheduled to take place in 2025, has been delayed, and now will take place in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In July 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia. The decision followed the proposal by IOC's Executive Board and was presented at the IOC Session in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Olympic Esports Games set to be held in Riyadh in 2027
On 11 February 2025, the IOC announced the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia in 2027. The committee also confirmed that the Esports World Cup Foundation will become the funding partner of the Olympic Esports Games. As a funding partner, the Esports World Cup Foundation, organizers of the Esports World Cup will select the games to be played at the Olympic Esports Games and create the tournament structure and ecosystem.
In a major meeting, President Thomas Bach said, “There is now a very clear roadmap to the historic first-ever Olympic Esports Games. With the Road to the Olympic Esports Games starting this year, the Games are becoming a reality. This is further evidence of the strength of the partnership between the IOC and the SOPC in many areas.”
HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal also added, “Today the journey to the first-ever Olympic Esports Games is clear, with an immediate timeline that works for all parties and sees the Road to Olympic Esports Games start in 2025. Together with the IOC there is real momentum, unity and clarity on the way forward, with the focus now on delivering."
“Already Saudi Arabia is looking forward to welcoming the world and playing its part to help the dreams of so many esports athletes come true. Just as we are seeing across all sports in the Kingdom, there is real growth and new opportunities to grasp as part of an exciting future for all,” the HRH Prince further added.
Why Olympic Esports Games were postponed to 2027?
According to SportsBusiness, the Olympic Esports Games 2025 has been postponed due to the IOC needing more time to establish a proper structure for the Esports events, as it is significantly different from traditional sports and requires a new hosting and financial model. The timeline to host the Esports Games was tight, and game publishers also had raised their concerns over the tight timeline, as the title that was supposed to be played at the event was not confirmed, and the qualification methods, dates, and venues were also not decided.
