ESports have become increasingly popular over the last year, so it should be no surprise to see it pushed to be recognized as an Olympic game. To that effect, it is worth noting that that eSports could be recognized as an official medal sport as early as the 2022 Asian Games. Still, this push for recognition needs more steadfast support such as Alibaba – China’s largest e-commerce company, owner of an eSports business, and Olympic sponsor through 2028.
Because of the company’s sponsorship, it may very well have some influence on the games. Moreover, the company is willing to promote eSports in the Olympics but only if the games aren’t violent. CEO of AliSports Zhang Dazhong revealed that it is “pushing for soccer, car racing, and other games to be endorsed as an official competitive sport.”
Due to the values of the Olympics committee, which is to promote peace, shooters may not be coming to the Olympic Games anytime soon. Zhang also commented, “that’s why for the future development of eSports, we will focus more on titles that are actually related to sports, instead of games that focus on violence and slaughter.” Zhang’s statement echoes comments made by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach who has also shown his support in adding non-violent video games to the Olympic lineup.
This promotion of non-violent video games makes sense, but it prevents a lot of the industry’s most popular games from joining the Olympics, such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or Overwatch. Other than the genres addressed by Zhang, it remains uncertain what exact games Alibaba is pushing for, but the company is hosting the World Electronic Sports Game tournament this week, which includes Hearthstone, Counter-Strike, and StarCraft.
Beyond the hoops of what is appropriate for the games, developers and publishers would need to share its IPs for free with the Olympic Games, according to Zhang. The games included would also need a large fanbase and possibly annual reviews, with a third-party organizer for the Olympics to ensure fairness. Despite all of the requirements and hurdles, eSports may become a permanent fixture of the games, as the Paris 2024 Olympics could also include eSports.
Source: Rolling Stone