Olympic Games: IOC faces challenges as it moves to add esports event without any violence

Now that the Olympics have inched closer to adding esports – video games – to the traditional menu of actual running and swimming, officials face a delicate balance.

Can they use gaming to attract a new generation of fans while avoiding all that virtual blood and violence?

This question loomed over last week’s announcement that International Olympic Committee (IOC) members will soon vote on – and are expected to approve – the creation of the Esports Olympic Games.

The event, which would be held separately from the conventional Olympics, could debut as soon as next year.

IOC president Thomas Bach made it clear that, in terms of shooter games and other violent content, “our values are and remain the red line that we will never cross”.

This stance has kept many of the most-popular video games – “League of Legends”, “Overwatch”, and “Valorant” – on the other side of the line. And kept many gamers at arms-length.

“It won’t be on a lot of their radars unless the Olympics play the games they play,” said Mark Deppe, esports director at UC Irvine, which offers game design studies and fields several teams in college esports leagues.