The Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) has unveiled a final list of esports titles to be contested at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. These titles were selected following the selection criteria that adheres to the requirements, including Olympic Values, set by AESF and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Following a recently-signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Games Ratings and Administration Committee (GRAC), the professional and independent game contents rating agency, preparations for the AESF Road To Asian Games 2022 was further bolstered with professional advice on contents assessment and as a result, AESF confidently disclose that the following titles will feature at the 2022 Asian Games;

1. Arena of Valor (Asian Games Version)
2. DOTA 2
3. Dream Three Kingdoms 2
4. EA SPORTS FIFA branded soccer games
5. HearthStone
6. League of Legends
7. PUBG Mobile (Asian Games Version)
8. Street Fighter V

In addition, to promote technology-based electronic sports around the Asian Games, two additional titles have been decided to feature as demonstration titles at the 2022 Asian Games and they are:

1. AESF Robot Masters – Powered by Migu
2. AESF VR Sports – Powered by Migu

The inclusion of Robot Masters and VR Sports presents an abundance of opportunities around the development and growth of Electronic Sports. The landscape around technological advances in VR and Robotics have been directly influencing and gaining interests across educational institutions. The importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) education presents a lifeline for the esports ecosystem. By providing a platform at the grandest stage in Asian Sports, the inclusion of VR and Robots proves that Esports is more than Video Games and most importantly serves the dual purpose of education promotion and entertainment.

With the confirmed official and demonstration titles, Esports is set to make history at the 2022 Asian Games where it will be featured as an official medal sports event for the first time in history. Following its debut at the Asian Games in 2018 where it esports were included as a Demonstration Sport, being accorded the same status as other traditional sports is a massive step for the Esports community.

Speaking on behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia, Director General, Mr. Husain Al-Musallam shared the view, said:

“We hope that this announcement allows all participating teams ample time to prepare and equip themselves ahead of the qualifying stages.

I believe we have ticked all the right boxes ensuring a high level of competition which promises great viewing for enthusiasts and casuals alike.

We at the OCA are looking forward to working closely with our friends at the AESF and the Hangzhou Organizing Committee to ensure successful execution of the esports event at the 2022 Asian Games.”

AESF, President, Mr Kenneth Fok also said:

“I am thrilled to see this all come together which takes us one step closer to seeing esports at the 2022 Asian Games. This news isn’t only important in contributing towards the final preparation for the games, it also plays a huge part in ensuring that AESF establishes and introduces a system whereby esports event titles are selected for Olympic events based on certain criteria and requirements to comply with Olympic Values. We look forward to launching the qualifying tournament and of course, the finals soon.”

AESF Director-General, Mr Sebastian Lau said:

We went through a stringent process in selecting these titles to ensure everyone participating has an equal opportunity of winning. Fully aware of how competitive the esports scene is, we made sure that all necessary factors were taken into consideration such as popularity, license, title contents and so others. Moving forward, we expect future competitions and tournaments to adhere to the same stringent process which helps elevate esports’ stature and hope the system can be a good case study for other Olympic events in other continents.”

Esports have experienced massive growth in Asia through official participation in various regional Olympic events such as the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Philippines. The momentum will continue as Esports will also feature at the 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand and the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.