There is an event funded by the Russian government that incorporates esports and normal sports called the Future Games.
I don’t think this is a Saudi type move but it is still interesting.
Putin was at the opening ceremony along side recently banned figure skater Kamila Valieva
Putin: "Sport should stay out of politics, on the contrary, it should unite people. There is no doubt that this will be for the good,"
Thoughts chat???
Well its different to Saudi since its more focused on its own citizens but its still deeply political unfortunately
Theyve been unhappy with the restrictions on esports for a while now (since it turns out people like sports and giving your citizens something they like makes them happy - which is a great tool for a government) - sports being political is nothing new and it really should stop anyone from enjoying the event but Putin knows exactly what hes doing and why theyre hosting the event xD
I dont think it ever made it to vlr: "Russian Lawmakers Propose Cutting Out Esports IP Holders" was a headline at the end of last year https://esportsadvocate.net/2023/11/russian-lawmakers-esports/ which was "rumored" to be linked to the Future Games
So yea look like its gonna be fun for people inside the country. Just keep in mind that big government funded sports events like this dont happen just because they like watching video games and regardless who host them, theyll always have an ulterior motive
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