It looks like the Olympics have taken some feedback for its inaugural Olympic Esports Series by adding another, more notable, video game as part of the event: Fortnite.
Fortnite is now an esport event under the Olympic Esports Series, but not as you’d expect Fortnite esports.
Rather than the usual competitive battle royale game, the Olympic Esports Series will be using Fortnite for shooting sport, overseen by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
The specific event is called the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Challenge featuring Fortnite. Players take part in sport shooting in a specially created International Shooting Sport Federation Island, made using Fortnite’s creative mode.
It’s not an open qualifier like other games/sports. Rather, it will be an invitational event where the 12 players from the Fortnite Champion Series will be competing.
So the Olympics isn’t endorsing Fortnite esports, but using Fortnite (which is now essentially a blank canvas for anyone to create their own game modes or activities) to create a virtual representation of sports shooting.
As such, the Olympics remain steadfast in having esports be defined as a virtual/simulated version of a specific sport, rather than competitive play as existed in video games.
At the very least, there are more recognisable games being used in the Olympic Esports Week, which sparked the negative reactions from established esports fans and gamers with the inclusion of Fortnite.
Source: Olympics