In a groundbreaking development at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously approved the introduction of the Olympic Esports Games. With Saudi Arabia’s backing for the next 12 years, the inaugural event will take place in 2025. This milestone marks an incredible achievement for the esports community and fans worldwide.
The historical Olympic Esports Games will take place in 2025
From Niche Gaming to the Olympics
But how did Esports ascend from niche gaming tournaments to an Olympic-level phenomenon? Let’s explore the journey from Stanford University’s 1972 Spacewar contest to today’s headlines and beyond.
Welcome to the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics
The Dawn of Competitive Gaming
Esports, which is short for Electronic Sports, is a form of competitive video gaming. Believe it or not, the earliest known gaming competition dates all the way back to 1972. This was the moment when Stanford University hosted a contest known as the “Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics.”
Spacewar! was released in 1962
Around 15 people participated in the event and the chosen game was the science fiction rocket game ‘Spacewar’. This was a game where players would navigate ships through an arena of torpedoes, space mines and limited fuel in a quest to remain the last player standing.
Exhilarating Spectator Sport
The whole thing was organized by a man called Stewart Brand, who was actually a sports reporter. Perhaps Brand was ahead of his time because the event was able to demonstrate the potential of video games as an “exhilarating spectator sport.” It might have seemed funny at the time but no matter how long ago it was, it did set the stage for the explosive growth that was to come.
I think we can all agree on the fact that the concept has seen exponential growth over the past 50 or so years.
Gradual Rise: From Arcades to Home Consoles
A lot of these types of games and events don’t live on for long but Esports managed to keep growing at a steady pace for several decades. Before the internet found its way into our homes, schools and phones, it was the arcades that provided the battlegrounds for the players.
To hype things up even more, there were magazines who covered the events and even celebrated the top players’ achievement through multiple record lists.
When the 90’s came knocking, gaming tournaments began to gain even more traction and they even started to have decent sized prize pools. Together with the technological advancements surrounding video game consoles, the birth of internet and PC gaming, this all led to a very prosperous decade.
Street Fighter II
One vs One Tournaments
At first, in most video games you had to keep track of the high scores to determine the best player. This paved the way for the extremely popular Street Fighter II. Finally players were able to challenge each other face-to-face to determine the best player. This was the beginning of the multiplayer and deathmatch modes that you can find in most modern action games.
These types of tournaments became so popular that even Nintendo created its own World Championships, which toured across the US and held its finals at Universal Studios Hollywood. Fun, right?
Nintendo World Championships 1990
Internet Cafés
Towards the end of the 1990’s we also started to see internet cafés popping up on each and every corner. Places like this became the perfect hotspots for young gamers to meet up and play together and basically give birth to a strong, youth social gaming culture.
The mighty popular Warcraft III
The New Millennium
Entering the 200s and a new millennium, it was finally time for today’s Esports to hit a growth spur. This new step included the evolution of more serious leagues and tournaments were created around the massive titles like Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and Warcraft III.
World Cyber Games in 2001
The popularity grew even more and in 2001, the first World Cyber Games was held in Seoul, featuring several popular games and attracting over 174,000 participants from 17 countries. A massive event like this marked an unexpected global success.
Cyberathlete Professional League
Soon the real money started to come in and in 2005, the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL World Tour) became the first event to offer a $1 million prize pool.
Streaming Revolution: Twitch and YouTube Gaming
Already having taken major steps in terms of development, 2010 would bring a revolutionary shift that would make the Esports viewership numbers skyrocket. Say hello to Twitch, Youtube Gaming and other big streaming platforms.
To give you an example, when Twitch launched the ‘League of Legends’ World Championship viewership soared from 1.7 million in 2011 to 8.2 million in 2012. A year later, as many as 32 million people were watching the event in 2013.
Being able to tune into live gaming events from the comfort of your own home was something new for this demographic. It was a great way to connect gaming fans worldwide and the numbers backed it up.
Advertising and Sponsorships Means More Money
The newfound popularity got the attention of multiple companies, leading to both advertising sales and sponsorship. As a matter of fact, investors took things even further and created their own teams, leagues and tournaments.
It didn’t take long for it to become the standard for Esports events to attract millions of viewers and the voilá – a competitive gaming landscape was transformed.
The International 2015: Dota 2 Championships
Reaching the Summit
Things were about to get even bigger and a defining moment was reached with The International 2015: Dota 2 Championships. The prize pool for this event was a mindblowing $18 million, breaking records and solidifying Esports’ place on the global stage.
This monumental shift proved that tournaments could rival traditional sporting events in terms of both prize money and profitability. This event also showcased the dedication and passion of the Esports community, which continues to drive the industry forward. The fact that the so called “nerds” could now consider themselves global superstars gave the industry an incredible boost.
2021 International Dota 2 Championships
The New Decade: Esports Takes Center Stage
Another Esports era began as we moved into the 2020s. The new decade kicked off with some of the largest tournaments in history, attracting millions of spectators and offering the largest prize pools we’ve seen.
How about The 2021 International Dota 2 Championships, held in Bucharest, Romania. Can you guess the prize pool? Would you believe me if I told you it was $40 million?
Introducing Professional Players
By 2020, we started hearing people referring to themselves as “professional Esports players.” Clearly this was something new and a term that hadn’t been used before. I’m not sure anyone had even considered the fact that you could now dedicate your life to competitive gaming, follow strict routines and train to become the world’s next top gaming athletes. Quite the game changer, I would say.
Esports World Cup in Riyadh
The Future of Esports
Today, the most-viewed tournaments are impressive spectacles in their own right, with titles like ‘Free Fire World Series,’ ‘League of Legends,’ and ‘Mobile Legends: Bang Bang‘ attracting millions of viewers.
In August 2023, Saudi Arabian tournament organizer Gamers8 hosted ‘The Land of Heroes‘ tournament with a colossal prize of $45 million, a figure that was surpassed this year by the life-changing $60 million prize pool at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Esports market is estimated to grow at a rate of 21.81% between 2022 and 2027, with the market size expected to increase by $3,515.1 million.
One can’t argue the fact that both numbers and the future are looking bright, but hold on, there is bigger news coming.
Esports will be a part of the Olympics Going Forward
The Olympic Esports Games: A New Chapter
For years there has been rumbling about how Esports want to become a part of the olympics. The majority of people, including myself, have scoffed at the idea. However, history was made yesterday (July 23, 2024) when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to create Olympic Esports Games.
The first edition will be held in 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The 142nd IOC Session in Paris endorsed the proposal by the IOC Executive Board (EB) unanimously.
For the organization of the Games, the IOC has partnered with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia for 12 years.
NBA 2K could be on the list for the Olympic Esports Games
What Games Will Be Played During the Olympic Esports Games?
The IOC has yet to unveil the official Esports Olympics games list. Unfortunately for those who love Counter Strike 2 and other violent games, they will for obvious reasons not be on the list as I doubt they will be approved based on the Olympic values.
With that said, guessing from what I’ve seen around the online Esports community, a potential lineup of Esports Olympics games could look something like this:
- Rocket League
- Hearthstone
- Puzzle Fighter
- Mario Kart
- Splatoon
- Super Smash Bros
- FIFA
- Madden NFL
- NBA 2K
Bet on King of Glory at Stake this summer
Endless Esports Betting Opportunities
By now I’m sure you are aware of the fact that Esports betting is really popular. For a long time sports was the only thing people could bet on but these days, the majority of the sportsbook has a good amount of options in the Esports category.
Some of the action can be found at any of the following sportsbooks:
Everything you need to know about Esports betting is available right here.
Conclusion: A Bright Future Ahead
I think it’s safe to say that it has been an impressive journey for Esports. From the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics at Stanford University in 1972 to becoming a part of the actual olympics in 2025 is simply amazing. It sounds like it’s literally come full circle, don’t you think?
Clearly this isn’t just a passing trend and even though I’m still refusing to call Esports players athletes, there’s no denying the cultural impact Esports has had and its current global standing.
I believe the creation of the Olympic Esports Games will help turn Esports into an even bigger deal than it already is and if something like this can contribute to connect and bond people from all corners of the world then I’m all for it.
I don’t know about you but I’m very curious to see what’s next.
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