Touted as ‘the pinnacle of competitive gaming,’ the UK government has recently endorsed a video game tournament to run alongside the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (though it remains a privately held, nongovernmental affair). With humble beginnings as a two-day pop-up event in Rio, the future of these events will play a more prominent role, coinciding with both the Winter and Summer Olympics in Pyeongchang (2018) and Tokyo (2020) respectively.
The competition will be overseen by the non-profit International eGames Committee (IECG), which will announce advisory boards for each partner country. The committee aims to positively shape the future of competitive gaming by enforcing certain regulations, the likes of which are currently unknown.
Each country will of course have a national squad composed of individuals 18 years or older. They will be able to play both with their team and on an individual basis for a chance to win gold, and will be selected by their respective country during a National Qualifiers held domestically during non-Olympic years. Furthermore, in the context of gaming—which more so relies on a certain skillset rather than a mixture of abilities coupled with physique—we may very well see mixed-gender parties, something unheard of in any other Olympic-hosted sport. This remains to be determined however, as ambiguous wording in the official statements makes it difficult to determine how things will play out.
“In line with other globally established sporting events, the eGames will be a medal only competition, with no prize money, but the opportunity to take home gold for your country,” say the organizers.
Whether recognition is enough to encourage the country’s elite remains to be seen, especially given the fact that many competitive gamers across the world can already win upwards of $10m USD in a slew of other events. Moreover, questions arise as to which games will actually be played at the inaugural event, particularly because unlike physical athletics, games are trademarked and copyrighted and are therefore are the rightful property of private enterprises. As such, there may be legal hurdles to overcome in addition to social barriers which may aim to prevent gaming from ever becoming an Olympic event. Still, the IECG is optimistic.
This article was written by Ido Lechner from PSFK and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
