“It’s about engaging with young people” Olympics sports director speaks on the sporting giant’s risky, high-profile leap into video games | Gaming

Earlier this year, the Olympics committee voted overwhelmingly to authorise the Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia, to run for a whopping 12 years. It marked a massive milestone for the Olympics, which has recently tried to appeal more to younger generations. Esports is its Trojan horse for such a venture. Video games are a big part of younger people’s lives, and if the Olympics can stake a claim in the competitive world of gaming, then perhaps it can get younger people to value sport’s longest living event.

But such a partnership raises questions. Especially after years of tester events, such as the Singapore Esports Olympics which acted as a test-run of sorts for the concept. That event, while clearly appealing to investors and business people, didn’t capture the…