While the
Olympic Esports project with Saudi Arabia has been abandoned, esports will ultimately find its place within an official framework and in its own dedicated games, with
the first Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games set to take place in Kuwait in 2027. On the sidelines of the opening of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, the Qatari president of the Olympic Council of Asia confirmed on September 21, 2026, that this new event would launch next year, the same year in which the International Olympic Committee had announced the first Olympic Esports Games, which were ultimately cancelled.
As for the presence of esports within the Asian Games, the 2026 edition marks the end of the collaboration. This is something the OCA had already announced in late 2024, with competitive gaming therefore being moved to its own event, which is expected to take place every two years. At the 2026 edition, 13 games, spread across eleven medal events, will be held from September 22 to October 2 in Japan, with more than 30 participating nations.
League of Legends will notably be featured, alongside
Honor of Kings, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and
PUBG Mobile, as well as more niche titles.
It is therefore the small Gulf country, located between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, that is expected to host this first edition, with early estimates suggesting that nearly 4,000 athletes could travel there, although no games have yet been revealed. Alongside esports, these Games will also feature “Mind Sports”, such as chess, go, checkers, and bridge. In addition to this first edition, Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has reportedly already put itself forward to host the second edition, scheduled for 2029.
The timeline of the announcement
The project was gradually developed within the Olympic Council of Asia. In April 2024, its Esports and Martial Arts Committee was already discussing the development of new competitions and festivals dedicated to esports, as the discipline had generated significant attention and excitement at the Hangzhou Asian Games. On June 30, 2024, the OCA then officially announced the creation of an Asian Games Esports Festival, with a first edition initially planned for 2025 and a biennial schedule.
Credit: OCA - 90th OCA Executive Board Meeting 26 November 2024 (Virtually)
A few months later, the project took on a new dimension: on November 26, 2024, the OCA Executive Board unanimously approved the removal of esports from the Asian Games program after Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and the creation of a separate event called the Asian Esports and Mind Games, while also approving the principle of an Asian federation dedicated to mind sports. The project was ultimately formalized this Monday, September 21, 2026, when the OCA signed the host agreement with Kuwait for the first edition of the Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games, scheduled for 2027, with an official date yet to be announced.
The Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games will mark another shift in how esports is positioned within the Olympic Council of Asia's multi-sport events. After featuring in the Asian Indoor Games between 2007 and 2017 and moving into the Asian Games program in 2018, esports will leave the Asian Games after Aichi-Nagoya 2026 to headline a new dedicated continental event. It is worth noting that, since 2025 in Bahrain, esports has also been part of the Asian Youth Games and is expected to remain there, as the OCA has not announced otherwise, meaning it could still be present in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, in 2029.
Questions that remain
In addition to the questions surrounding the dates and games, which are obviously important given that nearly 4,000 athletes are expected for this first edition, more specific questions are also being raised, with answers likely to arrive quickly as the event is approaching fast. For several years now, Tencent Esports has been a supporter and, since 2025, a partner of the Olympic Council of Asia for everything related to esports. Under the latest agreement, the Chinese gaming giant's esports division was recognized as
a strategic partner for 10 years, through 2035, and is involved in the Aichi-Nagoya Games with its “Esports Competition Solution” across the eleven medal events, “
a technical competition system covering equipment checks, live monitoring, and post-match review.”
As the deal was signed after 2024 and the announcement of this new event, the question of Tencent's involvement in the new project naturally arises, even though nothing has been announced yet. In addition to its ECS, Tencent is also closely linked to the OCA through its games being featured at the Asian Games, including this year's Aichi-Nagoya edition, with several titles from its catalogue, such as LoL, Honor of Kings, and PUBG Mobile.
Although, in a statement dated January 22, 2026, Tencent said it would provide its services “for future Asian Games and other major comprehensive Asian events,” no confirmation has been made yet, although its involvement through the solution itself appears realistic. It is also worth noting that, since this partnership, Yati Zhang, Director of Tencent Esports, has officially been appointed as the OCA Esports Manager, putting Tencent at the center of discussions and the OCA's esports project.
Credit: Sheep Esports / SE Aries
Beyond these broader questions, smaller but still important issues are also emerging. One of the first concerns South Korea, a founding country of esports, whose athletes competing in medal events at the Asian Games can receive a military exemption, just like athletes in more traditional sports. With this new, less established event, the question could therefore arise.
Esports Nations Cup and timings
There is also a timing question for esports as a whole, beyond the Olympic or simply OCA perspective. In 2027, the Esports Nations Cup is scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia, the country bordering Kuwait, after the
first edition was postponed. Originally planned for 2026, it was pushed back by one year, mainly because of tensions in the Middle East, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz and the war between the United States and Iran, which have destabilized the region. With already packed schedules for some of the best athletes, adding a competition of this scale on top of their club schedules and the ENC, in which some are already involved, could lead to a congested end to 2027.
It remains to be seen whether tensions in the Middle East will have eased by 2027, with the risk that both projects could be pushed back to even later dates.
If you want to learn more about everything that has happened around esports and the International Olympic Committee, including the end of the special committee, the disagreement with Saudi Arabia, and South Korea's project, Sheep Esports has previously covered the subject in several articles.
