Olympics Adds Fortnite to Gaming Lineup — Sort Of
It looks like the International Olympics Committee has had a change of heart about esports in the Olympic Games — sort of. After months of ridicule from the gaming community after announcing a lineup of obscure mobile titles and strange sports simulators, Fortnite is being added to the list. But is it enough to make a case for esports in the Olympics?
Probably not.
When the IOC first announced the creation of an Olympic Esports Series, the gaming community couldn’t help but laugh after seeing the Wii Sports-inspired lineup. Top esports titles and their veteran pro players were excluded from the Olympics and virtual sports like archery and dance took their place.
Although Fortnite’s massive prize pools and popularity helped push esports into the mainstream, the Olympics will not feature any competition format fans might be familiar with.
Instead, Olympic Esports Week organizers created the so-called “ISSF Sport Shooting Island” in Fortnite. This custom island will be focused on sport shooting. Twelve players from the Fortnite Champion Series will compete in various shooting challenges, showing off their mechanical skills and accuracy.
The reactions have been mixed. Some gamers are happy to see a “real” esport at the Olympics, considering that a win in itself. The addition of Fortnite could be seen as “progress,” noting that the IOC may finally understand how to represent competitive gaming in a fair light.
But some gamers wondered why it was an accuracy test instead of including the battle royale. Why not let pros participate in matches similar to the ones they’d have during the Fortnite Champion Series to show people what competitive gaming is actually like?
One gamer said that it felt like the IOC was “extremely out of touch.” Another felt they were trying to piss off gamers on purpose to get controversy and coverage.
This move is consistent with the IOC’s repeated concern about esports — that any games with killing in them could not be considered for their events. This notion was first put forth by IOC President Thomas Back in an Associated Press interview in 2018, and so far there has been virtually no movement on that point. Naturally, this one stipulation disqualifies nearly every popular esport.
In response, one esports viewer said that the Olympics shouldn’t even bother at this point. It is clear from the game lineup and previous statements by the committee that the IOC is not interested in featuring the games and modes that truly represent esports.
