Esports to make official debut at Asian Games in 2026

10 July 2023

Esports are playing a bigger and bigger role in our daily lives, and not just on home consoles and computers. Look at what Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has been doing over the past few months, for example, creating a hidden space in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive where Russian players can find information about the violent Russian invasion of Ukraine to which they otherwise would not have access. Players and companies are becoming more and more creative when it comes to esports, and more and more people are starting to follow national and international esports. In that light, it’s no surprise that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC) recently announced that esports will feature as one of nine new sports to be added to the 2026 Asian Games schedule.

Titles not revealed yet

While the nineteenth Asian Games still need to take place, from September 23rd, 2023, to October 8th, 2023, in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, the preparations for the next edition are already underway. The twentieth Asian Games, also stylized as the XX Asian Games, are planned from September 19th, 2026, to October 4th, 2026, and will be held in the Aichi Prefecture in Japan, with the majority of events taking place in its capital, Nagoya. In Japan, it will be the first time in the history of the multi-sport event that esports will be included in the calendar.

While we know the above already, which is great news for esports fans all over Asian and the rest of the world, the exact titles that will be included have not yet been revealed by the organization. To get an idea of what to expect, the esports demonstrations at the upcoming Asian Games are a good start. Several titles will feature as part of the event, including DotA 2, EA Sports FC, and League of Legends. It is likely that the most-watched esports in Guangzhou will also have the best chance of featuring in official form three years later in Japan.

Olympic Esports Series

The announcement by the AINAGOC follows a very similar one by the French Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra a few months ago. She revealed to the public that parallel to the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris, there will also be a first edition of the Olympic Esports Series. The decision was applauded by the international esports community, just like the AINAGOC decision is seen as a fantastic development by the Asian Esports Federation (AESF).

“The decision and announcement by both the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC) to include esports as a medal event at the 20th Asian Games, subsequent to the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, is warmly embraced by ESFI”, says Lokesh Suji, Vice President of the AESF, “With this announcement, it becomes crucial for us to expedite the development of our infrastructure, education programs, training facilities, and overall awareness within the esports ecosystem. Additionally, it is imperative that we provide our athletes with top-notch equipment and resources, empowering them to deliver their best performances on international stages. We encourage the entire nation to embrace this remarkable development”.