Esports has been considered for several multi-sport games in recent years, namely the Asian Games where it is set to appear as an official medal event at Hangzhou 2022, leading to speculation over its eligibility for the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) flagship event.

The organisation is striving to find new events for the sporting programme that will attract a younger audience with esports labelled as ideal by some and inappropriate by others.

The Olympic Virtual Series saw nearly 250,000 participants in its inaugural edition last year, with another scheduled for 2022, but is yet to see a breakthrough on appearing at the main event.

"The Olympic Virtual Series is a fabulous development that we launched together with a few International Federations," Pierre Fratter-Bardy, IOC head of strategy and development, told insidethegames at the Urban Sports Summit here in Montpellier.

"It was a great success and allowed us to reach new audiences.

"The feedback from the ecosystem and the industry was all very positive so we just want to focus on developing that for now.

"It is about reviewing the sporting programme after each edition of the Games, both summer and winter, so there is no timeline or deadline for esports to be included."

The IOC plan for the Olympic Virtual Series to take place annually after the first event saw baseball, cycling, rowing, sailing and motorsport competitions contested from May 13 to June 32 2021.

Federations are aligning with the IOC's regulations for governance and other operations in a bid for recognition.

"This community is becoming more structured," Fratter-Bardy added.

"We know the players are really training like athletes and more and more International Federations are getting engaged in esports which is a positive sign because for us it is about getting connected to these audiences and promoting a healthy lifestyle."

As well as its planned official Asian Games debut at the postponed Hangzhou 2022, after being a demonstration event at the previous edition, esports also appeared at the 2019 and 2021 Southeast Asian Games.

The first ever Commonwealth Esports Championships are due to be held in Birmingham, England on August 6 and 7, during the Commonwealth Games, albeit the event is separate to the Games, with its own medals and branding. 

However, it seems there is still a long way to go before fans see the sport at the Olympic Games.