Nintendo and SEGA have been teaming up with The Olympics for several years on the popular Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series, but a new report claims The International Olympics Committee has walked away from the series in favour of new deals within esports and NFTs.

According to Eurogamer, “a veteran behind the series,” Lee Cocker, told the outlet that the IOC chose not to renew its license with SEGA and Nintendo, letting it lapse back in 2020. “They wanted to look at other partners and NFTs and esports,” Cocker told Eurogamer. “Basically the IOC wanted to bring [it] back to themselves internally and look at other partners so they would get more money.”

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a series that has been running since 2008, with six mainline games covering both the regular and Winter Olympics. In the games, players could control various characters from both the Mario and Sonic franchises and compete in Olympic sporting events.

It’s no secret NFTs are a part of this year’s Paris 2024 Olympics. Olympics Go! Paris 2024 is a mobile tie-in game and its website states players can “join the excitement of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with nWay’s officially licensed, commemorative Paris 2024 NFT Digital Pin collection!”

As for esports, Saudi Arabia will be hosting the Olympic Esports Games in 2025. This is part of a partnership with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia that is set to last for the next 12 years, and should see regular events.

IOC president Thomas Bach stated: “By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.”

In other news, someone has claimed they are suing Bandai Namco because Elden Ring is too hard.