The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has officially announced that esports will remain a full medal sport at the Asian Games. The OCA explained that while it will launch the standalone Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027, the new event is not intended to replace the existing Asian Games or lower the status of esports.
On September 28, the OCA officially denied reports via its official website claiming that esports would be excluded from the Asian Games following the Aichi-Nagoya Games. OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam stated that esports "will continue within the Asian Games" and pledged ongoing support for the development of esports across Asia.
The OCA also referenced the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games scheduled for 2027 in Kuwait. On September 19, the OCA signed a host city contract with Kuwait. It explained that launching a separate competition aims to expand platforms for Asian athletes to showcase their skill and does not diminish the status of esports within the Asian Games system.
Accordingly, the OCA's current official stance is a dual approach running both the Asian Games and the standalone multi-sport event in parallel. Esports will remain an Asian Games medal event, while a new multi-sport event combining esports and mind sports will be held separately starting in 2027.
However, this announcement directly contradicts an official decision document released by the OCA in 2024.
Item 6 of the decision document from the 90th OCA Executive Board meeting on November 26, 2024, explicitly states that a proposal to remove esports from the Asian Games program after the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and hold a separate Asian Esports and Mind Games was unanimously approved.
In its latest statement, the OCA asserted that it has never decided or announced the removal of esports from the Asian Games. However, the Executive Board decision document in question remains accessible on the official OCA website. Furthermore, no follow-up documentation indicating that the decision had been amended or revoked was provided alongside this announcement.
Additionally, while the OCA stated that esports will continue in future Asian Games, it did not disclose specific discipline structures or detailed event lineups for the 2030 Doha Asian Games. Aside from the commitment to retain esports, detailed operational plans for future Games are expected to be announced at a later date.
Esports was first introduced as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games before becoming an official medal event at the 2022 Hangzhou Games. At the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Games, a total of 11 event titles are scheduled to feature, including Fighting Game Team Event, 'League of Legends', 'Pokémon UNITE', and 'Honor of Kings'.
