Here's Reportedly Why Mario & Sonic Aren't At The Paris 2024 Olympics

After six games over the past 17 years, there is somewhat surprisingly no Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games installment for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. This decision to cut ties with Nintendo and Sega reportedly lies at the hands of the International Olympic Committee, which decided instead to work with new partners as well as focus on NFTs and esports.

According to Eurogamer, the IOC didn't renew a deal with Nintendo and Sega after Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020--the last entry in the franchise. "They wanted to look at other partners and NFTs and esports," said Lee Cocker, who worked on the series and spoke with Eurogamer. "Basically the IOC wanted to bring [it] back to themselves internally and look at other partners so they would get more money."

Cocker spent almost two decades at ISM Fantasy Games, a company that counts itself as one of the "creators of the worldwide Mario & Sonic Olympic Games series." ISM also touts that the now-discontinued franchise "sold over 30 million copies."

Here's Reportedly Why Mario & Sonic Aren't At The Paris 2024 Olympics

Here's Reportedly Why Mario & Sonic Aren't At The Paris 2024 Olympics

Here's Reportedly Why Mario & Sonic Aren't At The Paris 2024 Olympics

Here's Reportedly Why Mario & Sonic Aren't At The Paris 2024 Olympics

Here's Reportedly Why Mario & Sonic Aren't At The Paris 2024 Olympics