Paris 2024 are the first Olympics without official console video game in three decades – here’s why

EVER since the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, there’s always been a licensed video game on console to accompany the big event.

But this year, fans who are looking for an official tie-in Paris 2024 title on PlayStation, Xbox or the Switch, won’t find one; here’s why.

The shift away from a big-budget video game releases for the Olympics is pure business logic, also influenced by the changing trends in how and where people play.

As video games strive to be more realistic and visually stunning than ever, development cycles have become longer, and budgets have skyrocketed.

The high cost of making games means each title needs to sell more copies to recoup investments and turn in a profit.

This is doable for most video game genres as the titles have a long shelf life because of their timeless stories or interesting gameplay.

But it becomes very different for a sports title based on a limited-time event that lasts no more than three weeks.

Olympic video games have a very short window in which they can hope to sell well, after which interest in the game will dwindle.

Unlike other sports simulation games, like Madden NFL or EA Sports FC, which have a loyal fan base buying every annual release, an Olympic video game is a gamble for its publisher.

As delays in video game development have become commonplace, the possibility of releasing the title too late and missing the narrow window of opportunity makes such games even more risky to create.

Olympic Gold for the Sega Mega Drive, known as Sega Genesis in the US, was the first such official game, launched in the lead up to the Barcelona ‘92 Olympics.

The game was simple back then, and nowhere near the elaborate sport simulations players have come to expect today.

The most recent games based on the Summer Olympics were published by Sega, for the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Games.

Since 2007, we’ve also had the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series which attempted to boost interest in such games by combining the event with gaming’s most iconic characters.

We got Mario and Sonic at the Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games.

None of these is returning for Paris 2024 as Olympic video games are shifting from consoles to mobile phones.

With more people playing games on the go than ever, it makes more sense to have smaller mobile games that are cheaper to develop and can be supported by microtransactions.

That’s why the only official video game this year is the Olympics Go! Paris 2024, a free-to-play title you can grab for your Android or iOS device.

Offering 12 sports to play, the game also lets players build and upgrade sports venues and customise their athletes.

If you're looking for more gaming news about the Olympics, check out the apparent Assassin's Creed nod during Paris 2024's opening cereremony.