Paris Olympic committee open to the idea of esports in the 2024 games

The 2024 Olympic Games could include esports, according to an Associated Press interview with the Paris Olympic bid committee’s co-president, Tony Estanguet.

In the interview, Estanguet mentions the importance of the Olympic Games keeping up with the interest of fans and the general public, especially for younger fans. “The youth, yes they are interested in esports and this kind of thing. let’s look at it. Let’s meet them. Let’s try if we can find some bridges.”

Estanguet was careful to get across exactly what he meant, however, stating, “I don’t want to say ‘no’ from the beginning. I think it’s interesting to interact with the IOC, with them, the esports family, to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success,” making it clear that the idea was far from a done deal.

The final approval would have to go through the International Olympic Committee in a process that won’t occur until 2019.

The idea of partnered international competitions could pose a particularly interesting problem for Blizzard that hosts its own annual Overwatch World Cup, which would likely be very similar to anything included in the Olympics.