First Olympic Esports Games Reportedly Postponed
– 1 min read
The U.S. magazine Sports Business reports exclusively that the first Olympic Esports Games will no longer take place in 2025. While the report has not been officially confirmed, industry insiders say they would not be surprised by such a decision.
The inaugural Olympic Esports Games were initially planned for 2025 in Saudi Arabia. However, no specific timeframe or game lineup had been announced. Now, the U.S. industry magazine Sports Business claims to have learned that the event has been postponed—possibly to 2026 or even later.
There has been no official confirmation of this report, which Sports Business has placed behind a paywall. GamesMarkt has requested statements from both the IOC and the DOSB.
Within the industry, however, the news of a possible postponement has not caused much surprise. Rumors have been circulating for some time, and given the immense logistical effort required—especially for National Olympic Committees such as the DOSB in Germany—it seems unlikely that the Olympic Esports Games will take place in 2025 when a date has yet to be set.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is likely to take any potential delay in stride. The country is already hosting the World Esports Cup, the most highly endowed esports event in the world, which was a huge success in 2024.
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Written by
Stephan Steininger is Director of Operations and Editor-in-Chief of GamesMarket. As part of the magazine since its inception in 2001, he knows the GSA games industry by heart.
