Intel and the IOC announce Intel World Open

American technology company Intel corporation and the International Olympic Committee have joined forces to create the Intel World Open. The esports competition will tie into the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

The Intel World Open will feature Rocket League and Street Fighter V competitions, bringing Capcom and Psyonix/Epic Games on as partners. Each tournament will have a $250,000 prize pool and will be held at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo, from July 22-24.

Esports organiser and production company, ESL will handle the World Open's production. Online qualifiers will give players from participating countries the opportunity to represent their nation. In June 2020, a live qualifying event will be held in Katowice, Poland, to determine which teams will compete in Tokyo. 

Image credit: Capcom

Capcom Media Ventures vice president of marketing, Mike Larson said in a statement: “Even though we have two existing products in the marketplace, nothing really touches on that specific, unique trait. That’s why we’re super excited about the program.” 

“Esports is very much a part of where we see the franchise and company going forward. We’re thrilled to be part of this, because it really allows us to move even further in that direction with the good people of Intel.”

Capcom's Street Fighter franchise helped develop the fighting game genre and it possesses systems and mechanics that are simple and easy to understand. This makes it a great spectator title for a global audience with no complicated rules.

Psyonix vice president of publishing, Jeremy Dunham said: “It’s something different. We haven’t really done anything like this before, and it’s something our fans have been asking for for a really, really long time—to have national pride on the line whenever they’re playing Rocket League." He added, “On the whole, we can’t contain ourselves. We’re pretty excited about it. We think it’s going to be a really big deal.”

Image credit: Psyonix

Similar to Street Fighter V, Rocket League is also simple to understand. The game features rocket equipped cars that hit a giant ball around a field with the aim of scoring goals. It is essentially football with cars and who hasn't heard of football in this day and age. 

Intel World Open grows upon the IOC's relationship with Intel from last year's Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) PyeongChang event which tied into the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. This event brings two popular titles and hosts the event in Japan, a country that has become synonymous with gaming culture. 

Intel World Open will help expose esports to a wider global audience while also giving the IOC access to a younger demographic.