Esports Deemed As A Sport By The IOC

By Jeramie Bizzle

According to Reuters, the International Olympics Committee said that esports can be included in the Olympic games as long as it adheres to the Olympic values.

Esports has been acknowledged as a sport based on the amount of training players invest into competitive gaming. Like other sports, gamers have their fair share of injuries including arthritis and wrist fractures.

Other sports also invested in the growing brand including the NBA, who are looking to begin their NBA 2K league in 2018 and recently the New York Yankees have partnered with Echo Fox, an esports team founded by former Los Angeles Laker Rick Fox.

With the inclusion of esports, the viewership for the Olympics is expected to grow as competitive gaming had more viewers in 2016 compared to the World Series and the NBA finals. This will introduce both audiences to each others brand as it brings something fresh to the Olympics.

There is still no word on which game titles will be included in the esports side of the Olympics, but popular titles including League of Legends, Street Fighter, and Counter-Strike: GO are what some may expect to make the cut.

Competitive gaming will be included in the 2022 Asian games and judging by its success, the Olympics will be more invested in the inclusion of the games in 2024.