The wrangling over the first Olympic Esports Games continues. Following the breakthrough and subsequent postponement, stakeholders IOC, SOPC, and EWCF met again to review the project and terminated the partnership by mutual agreement. Both sides will continue their esports plans separately.
The first Olympic Esports Games have failed—at least for now. After reviewing the project, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) responsible for implementation, and the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) have ended their partnership. Previously, the Games, originally planned for 2025, had been postponed. The tone of the statements issued by both sides suggests that there was no dispute, but that they were unable to agree on a common approach.
Both sides, the IOC and the EWCF, will continue their activities in esports separately. The IOC writes: “The IOC, for its part, will develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games, taking the feedback from the ‘Pause and Reflect’ process into account, and pursue a new partnership model.”
The new approach should be better aligned with the long-term ambitions of the Olympic movement. The opportunities offered by Olympic Esports Games should also be spread more widely. The goal is to have the inaugural Games as soon as possible.
In a statement, which was also posted by President Ralf Reichert on LinkedIn, the EWCF expressed its gratitude for the open and collaborative dialogue. The EWCF will continue to focus on the success of the Esports World Cup, as well as the launch of the Esports Nations Cup in November 2026.
It is therefore impossible to say exactly where the cooperation between the IOC and the EWCF broke down. However, the IOC's statement suggests that it felt too closely tied to Saudi Arabia's esports activities. After all, the EWCF was created on the initiative of the country. The first two editions of the world's largest esports event were also heavily supported and financed by Saudi companies, some of which are state-owned. The IOC, in turn, had committed to the PCOC, Saudi Arabia's national Olympic committee, as a long-term partner for the Olympic Esports Games. Although the Olympic Esports Games were to take place in different cities and countries after the first edition in Riyadh, like the normal Olympic Games, the IOC would have left the organization to the Saudis for over a decade.
It was also unclear when the Olympic Esports Games in Riyadh were to take place. The most likely slot would have been between the Esports World Cup and the new Nations Cup. It is unclear whether the end of the partnership has anything to do with the personnel changes at the IOC. In June 2025, Kirsty Coventry became the first woman ever to take over as IOC President. The plans for the first Olympic Esports Games were developed under her predecessor, Germany's Thomas Bach.
Under Bach, the IOC was initially a fierce critic (in German) of esports, but then strategically repositioned itself (in German) and defined classic esports disciplines such as League of Legends, CS2, and DOTA2 as “eGaming,” referring to esports only in games where real sports were practiced virtually.
This approach may also have been a dividing line between the IOC and the EWCF. As founder of ESL, President Reichart has been advocating for the recognition of esports for many years, regardless of the disciplines. Furthermore, the Esports World Cup does not distinguish between games based on real sports and those that are not. On the contrary, except EA Sports FC, chess, and the sim racing game Rennsport, the EWC was held exclusively in classic gaming disciplines.
