Esports has officially joined the Olympics in the form of the Olympic Virtual Series, where Olympic players from worldwide will gather to compete in games based on physical sports, like baseball or rowing.
In a press release from the International Olympic Committee, IOC President Thomas Bach said, “The Olympic Virtual Series is a new, unique Olympic digital experience that aims to grow direct engagement with new audiences in the field of virtual sports.” This has especially been shown in the timing and manner of the OVS.
Some of the games include Zwift, an online realistic cycling game similar to an exercise machine or Wii Sports, an open format for rowing and Gran Turismo for racing.
The selection of these games is intended to provide a bridge between traditional events in the Olympics and the esports community worldwide, bringing both together at one of the most famous worldwide sports competitions ever, according to the release.
Currently, there are only five games that are being run at the OVS, being Gran Turismo, Zwift, eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020, Virtual Regatta and the Open format for rowing. However, the IOC has confirmed there are other independent franchises interested in getting involved with the OVS, including the International Basketball Federation, the International Tennis Foundation, World Taekwondo and FIFA. Specifically, the FIFA that runs international soccer games and not the video game.
According to the IOC, the reason the OVS was created was due to the Olympic expansion plan, the Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which holds recommendations to try to improve and expand the Olympics over the next five years. Within this plan comes recommendation No. 9 which states, “Encourage the development of virtual sports and further engage with video gaming communities.”
Some of the specific points under this recommendation include strengthening the roles and responsibilities of existing independent franchises within the Olympics, such as Polyphony Digital in the case of Gran Turismo.
Other specific points include considering the addition of physical virtual sports to the Olympic program and supporting local partnerships between sport and video gaming communities to encourage engagement in the Olympic Movement.
This recommendation is just one of 15 included in the Olympic Agenda 2020+5, but the OVS is the current solution to recommendations such as No. 9, No. 8, “Grow digital engagement with people,” and No. 12, “Reach out beyond the Olympic community.” With the creation of the OVS, the IOC is achieving many of the goals in its agenda in one fell swoop.
In terms of the calendar, the OVS is running from May 13 to June 23 and includes multiple ways for the community to get involved. Little information is known about community involvement, but involvement was promised in the press release and there will be updates soon on the official Olympic news source.
If you’re interested in gaming, this will be the event for you since it’s going to be on one of the biggest stages in the world, and it’ll be a great event to watch.
Dylan Shepler can be reached at [email protected]