3 min readOct 7, 2026 09:51 PM IST
With the ever-growing esports market around the world, the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games will take place in Kuwait in 2027. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has signed the Host City Contract with Kuwait to stage the event, which creates a dedicated continental platform for esports and mind sports, with around 4,000 athletes expected to take part. The OCA is also in discussions with the Philippines to host the second edition in 2029.
The development marks another step in the growing recognition of esports within Asian sport. Esports first featured at the Asian Games as a demonstration event in 2018, before becoming an official medal sport at Hangzhou 2022. India competed in four titles at Hangzhou: DOTA 2, EA Sports FC, League of Legends and Street Fighter, with the League of Legends team finishing fifth. At the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, esports returned as an official medal event, with India again competing in four titles: eFootball, League of Legends, Pokémon UNITE and Puyo Puyo Champions. The 2026 programme featured 11 esports titles overall.
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The announcement comes amid an expanding international esports calendar. Indian teams competed at the Esports World Cup in 2026 across multiple titles, while the inaugural Esports Nations Cup is scheduled for November 2027 in Riyadh following its postponement from 2026.
For Akshaj Shenoy, captain of India’s League of Legends team at the recently concluded Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the development comes with a direct understanding of the national-team experience. Shenoy had also captained India’s League of Legends team at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the side achieved a fifth-place finish.
“The idea of having a dedicated Asian event for esports makes representing your country even more meaningful, because it gives players a stage where competitive gaming is the central focus. What I find particularly exciting is the possibility of building a stronger competitive culture around national teams. With the event returning every two years, national-team competition can become a more regular part of an athlete’s career, giving players and teams more opportunities to prepare and compete together at the highest level. Representing India has been one of the most memorable parts of my career, and seeing that opportunity extend to more players and titles would be a meaningful step for esports in the country,” shares Shenoy.
Akshat Rathee, Co-founder of NODWIN Gaming, said the announcement was an interesting development for the esports ecosystem in Asia, given the continent’s large gaming communities. He said, “The announcement of Kuwait as the host of the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games is an interesting development for the esports ecosystem in Asia. The continent has some of the world’s largest and most established gaming communities, so creating a platform that brings athletes and ecosystems together under a continental sporting framework could be meaningful.”
