HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said: “Today the journey to the first-ever Olympic Esports Games is clear, with an immediate timeline that works for all parties and sees the Road to Olympic Esports Games start in 2025. Together with the IOC there is real momentum, unity and clarity on the way forward, with the focus now on delivering.

Competitive gaming is finally getting a stage worthy of its global impact: the Esports Olympics will land in Saudi Arabia, albeit two years later

The event is part of a 12-year agreement signed last year between the IOC and Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup Foundation, which will serve as the founding partner

The inaugural Olympic Esports Games will take place in Riyadh in 2027, two years later than originally planned, following a 12-year agreement with Saudi Arabia signed last year.

IOC members were told in Paris the vision for the Esports Olympics was to hold it every two years starting in 2025, with “physical, simulated and electronic games” included.

The first Olympic Esports Games will be held in two years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday, as part of a 12-year-deal with the country signed last year.