After much planning and back-and-forth, the video games industry has its own official Olympic Esports Games event.

In its 142nd session, The International Olympic Committee has voted “yes” to the creation of the Olympic Esports Games. The inaugural event will be hosted in Saudi Arabia in 2025. This is a week after the IOC announced its partnership with the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia.

While the new event is a-go, nothing specific has been confirmed. This includes the host country, the venue, and dates. Here’s a quote from IOC president Thomas Bach:

“This is truly a new era for the IOC. With the confirmation by the IOC Session of the creation of the Olympic Esports Games, we are keeping up with the pace of the digital revolution. The esports community, represented in our Esports Commission, has enthusiastically engaged with this initiative.”

A HISTORIC VOTE!

The 142nd IOC Session votes for the creation of the Olympic Esports Games.

Mark the date ? pic.twitter.com/CPRrwrirba

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) July 23, 2024

This has been a long time coming, and is quite a turn from the IOC. Back in 2018, the same group wouldn’t want esports as an official event as games like Counter-Strike and Overwatch were considered too violent and “contradictory to the Olympic values”. This change is most likely due to the lobbying from Saudi Arabia, its track record running the Esports World Cup, and other factors involving SA’s current Saudi Public Investment Fund initiative.