This year's Commonwealth Games will host a Commonwealth Esports Championship for the first time.
The fledgling showcase will not offer medals to the winners, however, a successful event could mean a full initiation into the games in 2026.
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Three games will feature this summer, and somehow Konami has managed to get eFootball into the list ahead of FIFA 22!
"Most hated game on Steam"
Much has been made of the introduction of eFootball this season, and back in October, it was ranked as the most hated game on Steam.
Riddled with bugs and dreadful graphics, it appeared that all the good work Konami had done with the PES franchise had quickly been undone.
For context, in the last month, less than 600 people were playing eFootball according to the Steam charts.
Effectively, even the updates Konami has been rolling out are not enough to maintain a strong user base for the game.
FIFA misses out
The gap between FIFA 22 and eFootball this season has been enormous, with the two barely comparable in terms of an enjoyable football sim experience.
Despite this though, eFootball has managed to earn selection to be part of this year's Commonwealth Esports Championships showcase.
This does beg the question of why, and it could be as simple as EA not wanting to take part in the games.
The cost is also a likely factor with eFootball free-to-play, while any agreements with EA would come at a cost.
We have our concerns about sports sims in the world of esports as there is a large luck element to the games, but that is an argument for another time!
Commonwealth Esports
Along with eFootball, two other games have been confirmed as part of the lineup for this summer's event.
DOTA 2 and Rocket League will also feature, with all three titles hosting an open category and a female category.
CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation Katie Sadleir said "Alongside the Global Esports Federation, we are delighted to unveil three major titles for the Commonwealth Esports Championships in Birmingham this summer."
"There is no doubt this innovative and exciting event will create new learnings and opportunities for us to further explore esports."
Commonwealth Games Minister Nigel Huddleston added that "Esports has connected millions of young people across the Commonwealth, providing entertainment and a vital sense of community."
"The Commonwealth Esports Championships is a major vote of confidence in the West Midlands' and UK's thriving esports industry and an exciting chance to look at how this can be brought into the Commonwealth Sport Movement."