Esports is one of the fastest-growing disciplines and is set to shine even brighter as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced the lineup for the Asian Games 2026. The prestigious event will feature an expanded roster of 11 esports events making a significant jump from seven events at the previous edition in 2022.
The selected categories span multiple genres including racing, fighting and battle royale. This could also be India’s major chance to win its first medal in the discipline.
Lokesh Surji, the director of ESFI said, “The OCA’s decision to expand the Esports program to 11 titles is a tremendous boost for India. Not only does this increase our chances of winning a medal at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 but it also paves the way for greater awareness and participation in new titles among our youth.”
The 2026 Asian Games will host competitions in various events, and this expansion not only highlights the growing influence of exports but also provides a broader platform for emerging talents. The events as announced by OCA are given below.
- Street Fighter 6
- Pokemon Unite
- Honour of Kings
- League of Legends
- PUBG
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Dreams of 3 Kingdoms
- NARAKA: Bladepoint
- Gran Turismo 7
- eFootball
- Puyo Puyo Champions
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and MD of NODWIN Gaming shared his thoughts, “The e-sports lineup for the 2026 Asian Games presents an interesting mix of titles across genres like strategy, action and sports simulation. The continued involvement of Olympic bodies in e-sports, from the Asian Games to the upcoming Olympic E-sports Games in 2027, is a healthy signal for the industry.”
Another co-founder, S8UL E-sports, Animesh Agarwal expressed his enthusiasm, We have already seen the impact of titles like League of Legends and Street Fighter 6 in the last edition, and this growing recognition of e-sports at multi-sports international events has become the aspiration of countless Indian players. We at S8UL are excited to support and witness the next generation of champions emerge on this grand stage,”
The tournament will take place in Japan in September and October of 2026, esports attract a large audience as reported by Esports Charts in the last edition of League of Legends and Dota 2 events, with a peak viewership of 146,000 and 78,000.
Needless to say, the category continues to gain recognition and it might even be included in future Olympic projects.
