eSports could very well make an appearance at the next Commonwealth games.

A trial during the last weekend of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games saw 20 Commonwealth nations, including Australia, send teams to compete for medals for three different games – Dota 2, Rocket League and eFootball.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Dame Louise Martin believes that eSports will indeed find itself as part of future Commonwealth Games.

“Going forward this will be a sport within the Games – that’s my personal opinion,” she said in an interview with the BBC.

Katie Sadleir, chief executive of the CGF said that it “signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Global eSports Federation which doesn’t stop after this Games.”

Following the trial, Sadleir said that the CGF would review the event and consider the future of eSports within the Commonwealth Games.

“We will evaluate all options and look at what is the best win-win for the partnership.”

“It’s not just about whether or not we would like eSports in the Games, it’s also about whether or not eSports wants to be inside the Games.”

With the Gaming industry worth over $423 billion ($300 billion USD)(and the eSports industry still in its infancy and worth just under $2 billion ($1.38 billion USD), its an industry that’s hard to ignore.

The inclusion of eSports in the Commonwealth games suggests that the CGF is attempting to access a new audiences dominated by younger people and those who aren’t interested in typical sporting events.

The Victoria 2026 Commonwealth games already has 16 sports locked in, and is looking for 3 or 4 more to add before the end of September.