The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recent announcement of the Olympic Esports Games signals a new era of institutional recognition for esports players and the field. Despite the elevation of esports to Olympic status, the accompanying attention to protecting and enhancing mental health among esports players has yet to be addressed. This editorial calls on sports medicine, public health and esports stakeholders to treat esports as a legitimate high-performance context and take seriously the mental health of those who compete.

Esports is organised, competitive video gaming that has rapidly evolved into one of the world’s largest high-performance environments, engaging tens of millions. Professional players train and compete under conditions that mirror those of traditional sport: structured practice schedules, high public visibility, intense performance pressure, team selection and short-term contractual demands.1 These athletes operate in high-stakes environments that combine psychological load, physical strain and digital exposure.2 Across esports samples,…