The International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that Saudi Arabia will no longer host the first esports Olympics, originally scheduled for 2027.A statement said the International Olympic Committee and the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia "unanimously agreed to terminate their cooperation in the e-sports Olympics."

The first eSports Games was originally scheduled to be held in Riyadh this year, but was postponed in February this year.

In July last year, the International Olympic Committee announced an agreement with Saudi Arabia for the first time to ensure that Saudi Arabia would host the event for 12 consecutive years starting from 2025.

IOC President Thomas Bach was instrumental in the creation of the event, but he has since been replaced by Kirsty Coventry.

The Olympic Esports Series, a small virtual sports event hosted by the International Olympic Committee, will be held in 2021 and 2023 respectively.However, due to the lack of traditional esports, these events have been widely criticized by the gaming media.

The IOC statement added: "Recently, the two parties and the E-Sports World Cup Foundation sat down again and reviewed the plan. Both parties agreed to terminate cooperation in Olympic e-Sports projects. At the same time, both parties will continue to develop separately and move towards their respective e-Sports goals."