Everyone’s favorite VR racquetball game is one step closer to becoming an Olympic sport.
Earlier today, VR developer One Hamsa announced that the International Racquetball Federation has voted to officially recognize Racket: Nx as a fully sanctioned sports discipline. According to the company, this marks the “first electronic game of any sort” to be recognized as a global sport in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee.
Last year One Hamsa expressed interest in slowly transforming Racket: Nx into an Olympic-level sport. Since then the company has worked alongside organizations such as the IRF and Metaverse Sports Association to establish the game as a legitimate sport. In 2021 the group signed a “Memorandum of
Understanding” and have since continued to expand upon the partnership.
“This is a marriage made in future-sport heaven: a world-class
developer and a unique, successful, and wonderful game with a fully global
international IOC-recognized sports federation that has the vision and the grit to not just
look around the corner but to go there,” said Metaverse Sports Association CEO Victor Bond. “This is one big step in our
collaboration and one gigantic leap for the new technology of sport.”
“This first-ever sanctioning act supports
Racket: Next’s core design principles as a fully athletic and visceral game, allowing
players of all racquet sports – not only racquetball – to make every racket sport move,
except for those that would not work in the average living room (like a racquetball dive
or a clay court tennis slide), immersed inside a lighted, responsive, audio-filled dome, in
a game that is purely skill-based,” added One Hamsa CEO Assaf “Usul” Ronen.
According to Ronen, Racket: Nx currently has over 300,000 active players from around the world, with that number continuing to grow thanks in large part to the massive success of the Meta Quest 2. Moving forward, the IRF will take part in the E-Gaming Pavilion at The World Games. The organization is also a candidate for the Olympic Virtual Series, which bridges the sporting world with the virtual sports gaming community.
Racket: Nx is available for $19.99 on Meta Quest and PC VR headsets. There are single-player and cooperative game modes as well as a built-in level editor, allowing you to craft your own futuristic racquetball domes. To learn more about the International Racquetball Federation visit here.
Image Credit: One Hamsa, IRF, Metaverse Sports Association
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