UK government backs the Olympics of eSports

Today the International eGames Committee, which is backed by the British government, announced the eGames, a new international eSports event.

The first outing of the eGames will be a two day pop up event in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympic games. Players from across the world will represent their country to try and win a gold, silver or bronze medal across multiple games. There will be no prize pool for the event, with the only rewards being medals and national pride.

Countries currently confirmed for the first eGames event include the UK, Canada, Brazil and the USA, with more to be added for future events. Each team will be made up of male and female gamers over the age of 18.

The announcement came during an eSports summit at the London Games Week, which featured the Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey who had this to say about the eGames announcement.

The eGames promises to be an exciting venture that will give eSports competitors across the UK even more opportunities to showcase their talents on an international stage. I welcome the ambitions of the IEGC and their efforts to promote the UK as a leading nation in the eSports sector."

No games or competitors have been announced for the first event, although more information is expected later this month, along with infomation on how the organisation plans to attract the top players in the world, without having any prize money to offer .