Fortnite Joins the Olympic Esports Week Lineup

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is busy planning the inaugural Olympic Esports Week. We now know one of the biggest games in the world will be featured over the four-day event. In conjunction with the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), the IOC is hosting 10 events and sports shooting is one of the eye-catching features. That shooting challenge for esports competitors will take place in none other than Fortnite, but the challenge is not what you might think.

From June 22nd to June 25th, 2023 Olympic Esports Week is set to feature rounds of baseball, chess, and other games with Fortnite playing host to the shooting challenge. Rather than host a battle royale round for competitors, the challenge will take place in a unique Creative Island that mimics shooting challenges in real life. 12 players will essentially be tasked with taking out targets with sharp-shooting skills put to the test in a very familiar way to Olympics fans.

All Olympic Esports Week challenges will be streamed globally and likely help solidify the stature of esports on the international stage. I don’t think PhenixxGaming readers need to be convinced that esports competitions are legitimate competitions, and strides made at the collegiate level are certainly helping convince those who might say otherwise. It’s exciting to see that a game as massive as Fortnite is getting featured like this in an inaugural competition but it’s also not quite the Fortnite experience.

There’s certainly skill required to be a sharpshooter in the popular Epic Games title, but it’d be nice to see the core gameplay of Fortnite featured. Players competing in NBA 2K23 or Eleven Table Tennis certainly will compete in the game’s main gameplay, so why not Fortnite? In my eyes, it shows that despite the boost in credibility esports is set to receive, there’s still room to improve the status of video games on the global stage. Let us know if you’ll be attending the opening ceremonies in June!