The choice of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) clearly fell on games that have a strong link to a physical sport. For example, there will be battles in ‘Zwift’, which is used by professional cyclists to race virtually. Dancers will compete in ‘Just Dance’ and racing will happen in ‘Gran Turismo’. There is a virtual chess competition via Chess.com.
In addition, more obscure games have also been chosen. There is ‘Tic Tac Bow’ for archery, ‘WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros’, ‘Virtual Regatta’ for sailing, ‘Virtual Taekwondo’ and ‘Tennis: Clash’. So there is no question of games that are popular worldwide in eSports, such as ‘League of Legends’, ‘Counter-Strike’ or even ‘FIFA’.
That also brings criticism. In ‘VRT NWS Laat’ Steven Leunens denounces the selection of the IOC. He has been active in the sector for twenty years and runs a company that organizes its own competitions. “There are games that correspond to disciplines at the Olympic Games, but they are not popular. I had to go find them myself,” says Unlocked’s co-CEO.
He is pleased with the choice to do a ‘Zwift’ competition in Singapore: “E-cycling is in the better games of the selection.” But that’s where the positive note ends. “It becomes even more ironic when you know that the reason why the Olympic Committee decides to bet on eSports is that they want to involve younger generations in the Olympic spirit. They are also made aware of this by their sponsors. But they completely miss their target,” he said on Thursday evening at one.