The upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games will not feature esports as a medalled event.
Set to take place in Australia, the Games will feature three new medal events, however esports was not included in the list. The organisers of the 2026 Commonwealth Games have not shared why this is the case.
The Commonwealth Games included esports as a pilot event for its 2022 edition in a bid to appeal to younger audiences. The esports events were produced in collaboration with the Global Esports Federation and Confetti Institute of Technology, as well as the British Esports Federation.
Teams participated in Dota 2, eFootball and Rocket League tournaments during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, with both men’s and women’s tournaments held.
Esports was a pilot event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, meaning that while medals were awarded, it was not an official Commonwealth Games Federation medalled sport.
The details regarding the upcoming event were not included, with BBC News reporting that the organising committee of the Games “refused to give specific reasons for the U-turn”.
The Commonwealth Games added Coastal Rowing, Golf and BMX as new sports for the upcoming edition.
Despite featuring popular esports titles such as Dota 2 and Rocket League, the event failed to attract large audiences.
A 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee spokeswoman said to BBC News: “While they weren’t successful this time, the Commonwealth Games Federation and Global Esports Federation will keep working on an inclusion pathway for this growing sport.”
The Global Esports Federation, one of the main parties behind the Commonwealth Esports Championships, is an organisation that seeks to popularise esports by organising tournaments and cooperating with authorities and game developers. The organisation is notably behind the Global Esports Tour, a tournament series featuring popular esports titles.
It is also worth noting that while esports will not be an officially medalled discipline at the 2026 Games, esports may still be present in some capacity at the event.
