The idea of bringing esports under an Olympic-style banner dissolved a good while ago, but the push to formalize competitive gaming within major sporting institutions is definitely still a thing. A new milestone now sits on the horizon, dubbed the Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games, a new continental event set to debut in Kuwait next year.
The announcement came during the commencement of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, where the President of the Olympic Council of Asia confirmed that esports is branching off into its own standalone competition starting next year, and that it’s headed to the Middle East.
Asian Games Changes Abound
The 2026 Asian Games will now serve as the final appearance of esports within the multi-sport program. The OCA had indicated something like this was coming back in 2024, suggesting that, once every two years, competitive gaming would get a standalone event away from the core Asian Games.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games will be the last to host competitive gaming. The entire event is set to wrap on October 4, and by the time it has finished, 13 games will have seen representation, with pro gamers from more than 30 nations stepping up to participate.
Kuwait will host the inaugural edition of the new Games, and it has been suggested that as many as 4,000 competitors could attend the first event. It’s not just traditional esports, though, as the likes of chess, go, bridge, and checkers are set to feature at the event.
Beyond Kuwait’s inaugural showing, the second iteration of the event could land in the Philippines.
Towards the end of 2024, the OCEA approved the removal of esports from the Asian Games, opting instead to establish something dubbed the ‘Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games.’ It wasn’t until September 21 that the formal agreement to host the event in Kuwait was signed.
Organizations and participants will now spend the next few months getting their ducks in a row and waiting for more details to emerge from the OCA. However, there’s a pretty congested international timeline emerging now…
This year, the Esports Nations Cup, set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, was postponed to 2027, which means that both of these events could land within weeks of one another.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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