IOC hosts esports Olympics event in May and June

The International Olympic Committee will host the Olympic Virtual Series in May and June, an event where players of physical and non-physical esports games can compete against each other. Gran Turismo and bicycle sim maker Zwift, among others, are participating in the OVS.

Five international sports federations and game makers participate in the OVS. This concerns console games such as Gran Turismo, smartphone games such as Virtual Regatta and games that work with a bicycle trainer. For Gran Turismo motorsport federation FIA and Polyphony Digital work together. Details about this event are not yet known; it is probably a match within the PS4 game Gran Turismo Sport.

For console gamers, there is also the Japan-released eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020. This game was made for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Publisher Konami Digital Entertainment is working with the World Baseball Softball Confederation to create a game for this. With World Sailing, the Virtual Regatta will host a global sailing game event. Virtual Regatta now has two iOS and Android sailing games.

The cycling trainer competition is organized by UCI and Zwift. Zwift makes apps that work with certain bike trainers. For example, users can participate in the Olympic competition on a bicycle trainer at home. Finally, there’s World Rowing, which will be holding an ‘open format’ competition. Few details are known about this, although participants can participate in the competition via a rowing machine at home, in a gym ‘or in the water’.

The Olympic Virtual Series starts on May 13 and ends on June 23. The IOC will announce more about how people can participate and what prizes there are at a later date. The committee says it wants to ensure that as many people as possible can participate.