The Olympic Council of Asia has confirmed the esports titles which will be part of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which is set to take place in fall next year.
Image credit: Riot Games
Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games confirmed esports titles
Announced during the 93rd OCA executive board meeting in Harbin, the People’s Republic of China, the list of games is as follows:
- Competitive Martial Arts (Only one medal)
- Street Fighter Series
- Tekken Series
- King of Fighter Series
- Pokemon UNITE
- Honor of Kings
- League of Legends – Asian Games Version
- PUBG Mobile – Asian Games Version
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Identity V
- Naraka: Bladepoint
- Gran Turismo 7
- eFootball Series
- Puyo Puyo Champions
Most of the esports titles are developed by Chinese or Japanese companies, including Tencent’s TiMi and Riot Games, Bytedance’s Moonton, Konami, and SEGA. Konami replaced Electronic Arts’ EA Sports FC considering Japan is the hosting country.
Esports was first introduced in the Asian Games as a medal sport back in the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games (which were delayed to 2023). Some game titles were also featured as demonstration events back in 2018.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, there were a total of seven games featured, including Arena of Valor, DOTA 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, PUBG, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Taking place from September 9 to October 4, the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games will feature competitions in 41 sports and it will be supported by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF), the esports governing body for the region.
Dota 2 will miss out
Despite its strong presence in the Japanese esports scene, one of Valve’s flagship titles, Dota 2, will not be featured as a medal event at the 2026 Asian Games. According to a report by The Esports Advocate, the omission was probably due to complicated scheduling and live broadcast requirements as the game duration of each match can largely vary compared to other games.