Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Gets Guaranteed Podium Spots At The 2026 Asian Games

It’s official—Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) is getting its moment of Olympic-style glory. The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that MLBB will be a medalled event at the 2026 Asian Games, making history as the first time the game joins the continental sporting spectacle.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, the Asian Games is essentially the Olympics but for Asia, held every four years. Esports made its first appearance as a demonstration sport in 2018 at the Jakarta-Palembang Games, before levelling up to full medal status in 2023 at Hangzhou. The 2026 edition, set to take place in Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October, will see MLBB rubbing shoulders with traditional sports—because why run a marathon when you can battle it out in a MOBA?

And if you think MLBB is just another mobile game, think again. With over 1.5 billion downloads, 110 million active monthly players, and the title of the first esports event series to cross 1 billion hours of watch time, it’s a juggernaut in the competitive gaming world.

MOONTON Games’ Head of Esports Ecosystem, Ray Ng, sees this as a defining moment. He believes MLBB’s inclusion in the Asian Games is proof of its status as a premier mobile esport, thanks to its accessibility, strategic depth, and ability to bring communities together through top-tier competition. In his words, it’s a “historic milestone” that will continue to inspire the next wave of esports athletes.

Before the big stage in Nagoya, MLBB will also be headlining the esports lineup at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand this December—marking its fourth consecutive run as a medalled sport at the regional event. And it’s not just there to make up the numbers; MLBB shattered SEA Games viewership records in Cambodia last year, pulling in over 1.46 million peak concurrent viewers for the men’s category and 1.37 million for the women’s.

Long story short? MLBB isn’t just playing games—it’s making history.