Saudi Arabia To Host First Olympic Esports Games

On the 14th of June, 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its proposal for an Olympic Esports Games, and that further news would follow. We now know that the IOC has not only secured its first host and partner for the event but that the first-ever Olympic Esports Games will begin in 2025.

The Games will be hosted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, thanks to a 12-year deal between the IOC and the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia. This means that any Olympic Esports Games will be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the next 12 years. It is unknown how often the Games will be held or whether they will follow the Olympic tradition of hosting an event every four years.

In response to the announcement, the President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, said:

“As a ‘first’ ever Esports Olympic Games, obviously there is still much to consider and plan with the IOC, but we are committed to hosting a special event that respects and celebrates the Olympic values while boldly seizing the momentum to drive esports forward with the international platform the sport and its athletes deserve. The world will have an open invitation to join us in 2025 and celebrate this moment together.”

Related: Competitive Pokemon Deserves More Recognition as an Esport

What Games Will Be Played at the Olympic Esports Games?

It is currently unknown exactly what games players will compete in at the Olympic Esports Games. The only information on that front comes from a quote from Thomas Bach, the IOC president:

“By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.”

How this will relate to the games that will be on the Olympic Esports Games programme is unclear. The implication is that any game that does not represent Olympic values will be unable to appear at the Olympic Esports Games. The IOC defines the Olympic values as “excellence, respect, and friendship,” so it will have to be seen which titles (specifically more violent esports titles) are deemed to meet these values.

Destiny 2 Titan Buffs Announced

During the livestream, the developers announced two buffs for Titans. The first is an increase to the damage of the Solar super ability Hammer of Sol. The second is an increase to the damage and range of the new Void super ability, Twilight Arsenal. It’s worth noting that, despite complaints regarding to viability of Prismatic Titan, these buffs are not aimed at the new subclass in particular. In fact, Hammer of Sol isn’t currently available for Prismatic Titans to use. The developers also stated that they are looking at the class closely for potential future changes.

Why are Titans Controversial in Destiny 2?

Many players have felt that Destiny 2‘s Titan class has fallen behind in power in comparison to Warlocks and Hunters. With the release of The Final Shape, all classes received new Super abilities and the Prismatic subclass. The main complaint is that the new content for Titans isn’t as strong or as varied as Hunter and Warlock, with many arguing that Titans are limited to melee builds. Similarly, the strongest new exotic weapons and armor, like the must-have Still Hunt, have benefitted Hunters and Warlocks more than Titans.

This power disparity was most clearly seen in the Salvation’s Edge World’s First Race. Reddit user Selpix_ noted that of the first 50 teams to beat the Raid, only three players played Titan. That’s three out of three hundred, or one Titan per one hundred players. This pretty clearly demonstrates that, at least for the hardest Destiny 2 content, the Titan class currently lacks power and utility that the other classes have.

New Destiny 2 Echoes Act 2 Information Revealed

The main purpose of the livestream was to let players known about new content releasing in Echoes Act 2. The most substantial new addition is the new Battleground activities. Like previous Battlegrounds, these are three new PVE missions that are similar to Strikes but more enemy dense. The first two activities will be available from the release of Echoes Act 2 on June 17, with the third releasing one week later.

During the stream, Senior Activity Designer Ryan Harris stated that these new Battlegrounds will have more specially curated content than we are used to, such as new art and level layouts. Harris also teased three unique bosses and a teleporting Wyvern variant.

We also saw two new weapons that will be available in Echoes Act 2. Aberrant Action (pictured below) is a Solar Rocket Sidearm with some perk combinations that are ideal for Solar builds and unique aim-down-sights animations. Corrasion is an Arc Pulse Rifle, and the second Pulse Rifle with the Heavy Burst weapon frame. Corrasion will be able to roll Frenzy and Voltshot weapon perks. The legacy shotgun Perfect Paradox will also be available with a new Origin Perk.

The Echoes Seasonal Artifact will receive a new row of perks with Act 2. Senior Designer Chris Proctor stated that the focus of these perks are sniper rifles and Solar Damage. This will give players an additional option in each column of the current Artifact. These include an anti-barrier sniper mod, a mod that allows snipers to Scorch targets on precision hit, and a mod that makes Solar ignitions more powerful. This will make the already strong Hunter build with Celestial Nighthawk and Still Hunt even more deadly.

New Solstice Armor Sets

On top of the Echoes Act 2 reveals, concept art for this year’s Solstice event armor were revealed. The theme for this year’s armor is exploration, which can be seen in the-aviator inspired jackets on all the new armor sets, the navigation equipment, and the compass-y motifs.

Changes to Destiny 2’s Act Structure

Since the conclusion of Echoes Act 1, there has been some confusion and critique of the episode system. The most common complaint is that three weeks of narrative per six-week Act is not enough. As a response to these complaints, Bungie is making all narrative content available from the start of each act, starting with Episode 2. This means players will be able to play an Act’s story missions either all at once or at intervals of their own choosing.