Esports will be removed from the official Asian Games sports program following the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has already voted to separate esports into a standalone multi-sport competition and recently confirmed the host city for the inaugural event.
According to the decision document from the 90th Executive Board meeting released by the OCA, the board unanimously approved a proposal from the Esports, Martial Arts, and Mind Sports Committee on November 26, 2024. The document explicitly states that esports will be removed from the Asian Games program after the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, and a separate Asian Esports and Mind Games will be held instead.
This decision does not affect event operations for the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Games. The OCA is proceeding as planned with 11 esports titles, including Fighting Game Team Event, 'Pokémon UNITE', 'League of Legends', and 'Honor of Kings'. However, if the current decision holds, esports will be removed from the official medal events starting from the next Asian Games, Doha 2030.
Plans for the standalone competition have also taken shape. On the 20th, the OCA announced that it signed a host city contract with Kuwait to hold the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027. Approximately 4,000 athletes are expected to compete across esports and mind sports such as chess. Detailed events and match schedules will be disclosed at a later date.
The OCA is also in discussions with the Philippines to host the second edition in 2029. The host selection will be decided at the OCA General Assembly in Doha in 2027. The OCA President explained that the dedicated tournament will provide Asian athletes with a new opportunity to showcase their talent.
With this decision, esports will move to a separate stage after just two editions as an official Asian Games sport. Esports debuted as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and became an official medal event for the first time at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, held in 2023. The Aichi-Nagoya Games will mark the second edition featuring esports as an official medal sport and, under the current OCA decision, the last Asian Games to do so.
For South Korean athletes, this brings significant changes regarding national team selection and military service exemption regulations. The current Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act defines eligibility for sports personnel as placing 3rd or higher at the Olympic Games or 1st at the Asian Games. The newly created Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games is not included in this criteria. Unless relevant regulations are revised, the Aichi-Nagoya Games will be the final Asian Games where South Korean athletes subject to military duty can earn military service exemption through esports.
The OCA did not state the reasons for removing esports from the Asian Games program in its 2024 decision document or in its recent announcement regarding the separate tournament. Whether the standalone multi-sport event will become a new stage providing esports athletes with more opportunities to compete or remain merely a replacement event after losing official Asian Games status will likely depend on the detailed disciplines and operational methods to be disclosed in the future.
※ Article Update
Following publication of this article, the OCA stated on its official website that esports will remain an Asian Games medal sport moving forward. The OCA explained, “No decision or announcement has ever been made regarding the exclusion of esports from the Asian Games after 2026.” However, the decision document from the 90th Executive Board meeting released by the OCA in 2024 explicitly states that a proposal to remove esports from the Asian Games program after the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was unanimously approved. That document remains publicly available to this day without any indication of modification or revocation, and the OCA did not explain when or through what process the previous decision was altered. Currently, the OCA's official position is that esports will remain in the Asian Games.
