Hero image: Street Fighter 6 key art. Image: Capcom, via Steam
The esports program at the 2026 Asian Games starts today at the Aichi International Exhibition Center in Tokoname, Japan, and runs until Friday 2 October. Eleven medal events, 13 games, 23 nations.
This is esports’ second outing as a full medal sport at the Asian Games, after its debut in Hangzhou in 2023. It very nearly did not happen. In late 2024 the Olympic Council of Asia was reported to be planning to pull esports from the Games and move it into a separate event, before approving the title list in February 2025.
The 11 events
PC: League of Legends, Naraka: Bladepoint, Puyo Puyo Champions, and eFootball (which also has a mobile half).
Mobile: Honor of Kings, Identity V, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and PUBG Mobile.
Console: Gran Turismo 7 on PS5 and Pokémon Unite on Switch.
Competitive Martial Arts: a single team medal played across three fighting games, with one player each on Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and The King of Fighters XV.
Six of the team events were decided by qualifiers earlier this year in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City. League of Legends drew eight nations through qualifying, including South Korea, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia. PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings both qualified 12 teams.
Where Australia fits
It does not. The Asian Games are run by the Olympic Council of Asia, and Australia is not a member, so there is no Australian team in Aichi. If you want to watch a national-team format with an Australian side in it, the next one is the Esports Nations Cup, which has been pushed back to November 2027.
The medal finals run across the next ten days, wrapping up on Friday 2 October.
Source: Esports at the 2026 Asian Games, Olympic Council of Asia, Liquipedia