Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to appear in 2026 Asian Games as event's esports list expands

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) is set to be a medalled event at the 2026 Asian Games. The mobile MOBA game makes its debut at the Olympic Council of Asia-organised event, where its 20th edition will be held at Nagoya, Japan next year.

MLBB joins the ranks of Street Fighter 6, PUBG and League of Legends as the Asian Games expands its list of games to be competed in. Esports made its inaugural entry as a discipline of sports in the 19th Asian Games, held in Hangzhou, China. The previous edition included only seven titles, some of which, including Dota 2 and FIFA Online 4, have been dropped in favour of the current roster.

This marks a notable expansion in MLBB's reach in international sporting competitions. Just a few months ago, the MOBA game was announced to be headlining the esports portion of the 33rd SEA Games, which will be held in Thailand later in December. The Asian Games, however, is intended to encompass the entirety of Asia, and saw 45 competing countries in the previous edition. It's also the first time MLBB has been included in an event associated with an Olympic body.

For its part, MLBB recently clocked in 1 billion hours of watch time globally, according to analytics website Esports Charts. According to developer Moonton Games, MLBB has also garnered more than 1.5 billion installations and 110 million active monthly users.

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will take place from 9 September to October 4, 2026, and will feature 41 disciplines of sports, including esports. In case you were curious, here's the list of games included in the 2026 Asian Games:

• Street Fighter 6
• Pokemon Unite
• Honor of Kings
• League of Legends (Asian Games Version)
• PUBG (Asian Games Version)
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Dreams Three Kingdoms
• Naraka: Bladepoint
• Gran Turismo 7
• eFootball Series
• Puyo Puyo Champions

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