It was announced recently by The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), that the world’s best pro gamers will soon be able to compete for medals at the upcoming 2022 Asian Games, a traditional sporting event. This marks a large step towards mainstream recognition of competitive gaming.
The decision by the OCA was made due because of “the rapid development and popularity of this new form of sports participation among the youth.”
On Monday (April 17), the OCA announced its partnership with Alisports, the sports branch of China’s online retail giant Alibaba, to introduce eSports to next year’s games in Indonesia as a demonstration event and with full inclusion at the 2022 Games in Hangzhou. Last year, Alibaba invested $150 million in South Korea’s International eSports Federation after the brand pushed for the inclusion of eSports in the regular Olympics.
The Asian Games are noted as the world’s second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics with 10,000 athletes from 45 different nations taking part at the most recent games in South Korea in 2014.
While only one game title has been confirmed for the 2018 games, FIFA 17, gamers specialising in “MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and RTA (Real Time Attack)” will be expected to take part. Being popular in Asia, it’s likely that these games will include League of Legends and Starcraft II. That is of course if Riot Games and Blizzard can work out deals with the OCA.
Thanks to the inclusion of eSports at the Asian Games, how long will it be until eSports hit the mainstream audience?
ESL One Cologne 2015