Olympics is Courting Esports Once Again. But Why?
Cover-Credits:
AFK Gaming
In 2018, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach firmly declared, "We have to draw a very clear red line... e-games which are killer games or where you have promotion of violence or any kind of discrimination... can never be recognized as part of the Olympic movement." His words left no room for doubt – esports and the Olympics were not to mix.
Yet today, the IOC is singing a different tune. In a dramatic shift, they are voting to create the Olympic Esports Games during the next IOC session, scheduled to take place at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
So what changed that made the IOC shifted its position so drastically? And how will this new integration of esports shape the future of the Olympic Games?
