Missing Mario & Sonic at the Olympics? Blame it on NFTs, esports, and the IOC

It used to be a tradition that with each upcoming Olympic Games, there would be a new installment in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series.

A crossover sports game where Mario and Sonic’s friends come together and compete in various Olympic events, the Mario & Sonic series began with the Beijing 2008 games and most recently released the Tokyo 2020 edition a few years ago. So why no Paris 2024 version? According to one of the former developers, a number of factors behind the scenes with the International Olympic Committee has led to the series’ cancellation In a report from Eurogamer, former Mario & Sonic developer Lee Cocker said the IOC didn’t want to continue with the franchise to make more money. Their pursuit of partnerships both in the upcoming esports scene and NFTs were the main reasons for the series ending.

The IOC’s entrance into esports has been well documented. The committee recently voted to create an Olympic Esports Games set to debut in Saudi Arabia next year, a location that has gotten the upcoming event into some controversy. As for the NFTs, you can find those on Olympics Go! Paris 2024, an official licensed game from the IOC you can play on your phone that features official NFT pins players can collect.

So there’s still an Olympics video game out there, which means there will probably be similar ones like this for future events. These licensed titles just don’t hit the same as watching Mario and Sonic duking it out on the world stage, though. Regardless, this is just a small result of the IOC’s larger plans to expand beyond the traditional Olympic stage.