While Saudi Arabia has become the go-to destination for competitive esports in the summer, thanks to the Esports World Cup, the country will also play host to the first-ever Olympic Esports Games too. The tournament will be held in 2027 in Riyadh, and the Esports World Cup Foundation is attached as a founding partner.
With this confirmed to be taking place, we still don't know the firm dates for the Olympic Esports Games, which does beg the question that if it is targeting the summer, will this replace the Esports World Cup in 2027? We'll have to wait to hear more about this, as for the time being both parties seem to be more concerned with setting up the necessary qualification avenues to ensure a wide array of countries and competitors are represented in the action.
Speaking about the Olympic Esports Games, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach stated: "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."
Saudi Arabia's crown prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal 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."
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