Playing spoilsport around the festive season, the Commonwealth Games committee announced last week that they will not be retaining esports as a competitive medal category for the 2026 edition. This follows on the heels of various esports games being conducted alongside the CWG 2022. The Indian DOTA 2 team had played into the history records by bringing in the bronze at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship, leading to the industry celebrating the victory and what was to come.

According to reports, the reason behind this exclusion were worries of various sports authorities over doping, essentially the use of stimulants to allow e-athletes to perform with an unfair advantage. However, Rohit Agarwal, Founder and Director, Alpha Zegus, a marketing agency specializing in gaming, points out that in the past, there have been doping cases across various sports in international events.

“We have always witnessed strict action being taken against the concerned player/team. However, this is the first time that a sport is being barred due to a few bad apples. Esports still has a long way to go in terms of growth and infrastructure, but it’s a little difficult to believe that doping could be the primary reason,” he adds.

Industry insiders had hoped that the pilot project of including esports in this year’s games would fuel the Indian gaming industry, already firing as it is on all cylinders, with an…