Wait for it… Video games could be part of 2024 Olympics

Yep. Listen to this. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) host a forum on e-sports on 21 July at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne with Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

The topic?

The possibility of video gaming becoming an Olympic sport.

GAISF President Patrick Baumann said:

Along with the IOC, the GAISF looks forward to welcoming the esports and gaming community to Lausanne. We understand that sport never stands still and the phenomenal growth of esports and gaming is part of its continuing evolution. The Esports Forum provides an important and extremely valuable opportunity for us to gain a deeper understanding of esports, their impact and likely future development, so that we can jointly consider the ways in which we may collaborate to the mutual benefit of all of sport in the years ahead.

It is not a random move. The ever-more popular and lucrative esports industry has been encroaching in the space of classical sports for years.

The industry is huge already thriving. A report said:

As of 2013, the 15 highest-paid professional gamers in the world earned between $226,776 and $454,544. Over the course of about two or three years, these pro gamers participated in an average of 30 tournaments around the world.