The Olympics esports games suck; here are the five games they should feature instead

The Olympics Esports Series kicked off last March 1, 2023, and features a list of esports for fans to watch. The qualification rounds have begun, which leads to the final stage, taking place in Singapore’s Suntec Centre from 22 to 25 June 2023. The problem is that the featured games absolutely suck. I mean, I’ve never heard of Tic Tac Bow or Tennis Clash and I’ve been watching esports and playing games my entire life.

The International Olympic Committee published an article detailing the featured esports, with notable titles like JustDance, Gran Turismo, and Chess.com appearing in the event. Although these titles are good, the rest of the featured games are pretty subpar.

First off, the Olympics Esports Series 2023 will feature Tic Tac Bow, a mobile archery game with a rating of 2.5 stars on Google Play that sort of looks like something I’d see as an ad on TikTok. Following this is Tennis Clash, a mobile tennis game with alleged horrendous loot box problems and lagging issues, according to reviewers. Not only that, though, the event will also feature Virtual Taekwondo, Virtual Regatta, Zwift, and some other games that are pretty boring and don't really excite esports fans.

Now, I totally understand the entire motive behind these choices. I mean, the Olympics has always been specifically focused on sports, so pivoting toward something different might feel a little nerve-wracking or unusual for such an event.

But I don’t think focusing purely on virtual sports games is the way to go either, or at least choosing to neglect some of the bigger esports out there. If the International Olympic Committee wants to properly bring esports around, I think it should feature any of these games instead.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive / Valorant

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant have risen to the top as one of the most widely known and growing esports in the world. Both first-person shooters have seen million-dollar tournaments organized and hosted every year and reached hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world.

The skill needed to win one of these tournaments requires an exceptional amount of focus, training, and teamwork from a group. Players spend multiple hours honing their strategies and individual talent to be the best of the best and it really shows in the competitions, which is why I think it'd be an amazing pick for the Olympics.

League of Legends / Dota 2

Dota 2 has held the biggest esports tournaments in the world and remains one of the most largely funded scenes out there—and League of Legends is nothing short of that either. Both multiplayer online battle arena titles are widely played by millions and watched a billion times over every year.

League of Legends and Dota 2 players need to focus pretty hard when playing these titles since both games require a lot of focus, strategy, and patience. League of Legends and Dota 2 esports have held some of the best matches I’ve ever seen, so bringing that to the Olympics would be a huge step up.

Teamfight Tactics

Teamfight Tactics is steadily growing as an auto-chess game with millions of players, a bunch of updates, and a few tournaments here and there. Although it’s nowhere near the prestige and fame of some of the aforementioned titles, the game would be an interesting feature in the Olympics instead of Chess.com. I personally think Teamfight Tactics is a lot more complex and challenging than chess, so the game might actually make for better entertainment.

Fortnite / Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0  / Apex Legends

It would be silly not to include a battle royale game in the Olympics. Fortnite alone has seen some of the wildest tournaments in the world and remained a sensation for a handful of years. Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 recently came out last year but has already seen a couple of competitions here and there. And of course, Apex Legends, the legendary battle royale that I’ve fallen in love with, sees thousand-dollar tournaments yearly. Any of these titles would be a great contender among the other choices and would serve up a lot of entertainment.

Hearthstone / Legends of Runeterra / Magic: The Gathering Arena

Despite none of these titles being as massively known in the esports scene, they’re definitely widely played and loved. Hearthstone has seen some pretty intense tournaments and I’d love to see more competitive gameplay from Legends of Runeterra and Magic: The Gathering Arena. I think any of these games would be a great addition to other strategy titles like Teamfight Tactics if they were featured in the Olympics.

And these are some of the games I think should be featured in the Olympics. I think that if the Olympics is going to introduce esports to the world across its events, it should do it right. I think it would be a great idea to hold two separate categories: one for virtual sports games and another for non-sports games.

This decision would allow the Olympics to host virtual sports games like FIFA 2023, NBA 2K23, Gran Turismo, or JustDance, while featuring other titles like Fortnite, League of Legends, or Hearthstone too. This route would be a better path in bringing esports to the Olympics.