(Image credit: Microsoft and Special Olympics)

In-person events have seen another rough year in 2021 with the need for continued social distancing, and accessible gaming tournaments are no different. Luckily, Microsoft has found ways to maintain its partnership with the Special Olympics through virtual Gaming for Inclusion Tournament. Follow the entire event to support inclusion in video games with The Load Screen on either the Xbox Twitch channel or the Special Olympics YouTube channel.

The experience kicks off with three days of individual game tournaments, starting with Rocket League on September 12 with a rebroadcast on September 17. That second view comes after the Forza Motorsport 7 Tournament broadcast. Madden NFL 22 is on the stream schedule for September 14, but that may change since editors have updated the Xbox Partners with Special Olympics article with the Madden event currently scratched out from that date.

Once the winners are determined for each game, there is a Celebrity Showcase on September 18, where those victors will get a chance to play with various pro athletes and other Special Olympics superstar supporters. The video gaming community has backed the Xbox and Special Olympics events since the first one in 2018. The First-Ever Xbox Gaming Tournament Hosted at 2018 Special Olympic USA Games article shows that the Xbox Forza Racing Championship team attended the event while the medals and other rewards were given out by Alan Hartman, who is the head of Turn 10 Studios, creators of the Forza Motorsport franchise.

Competitors for this year’s tournaments got a critical spotlight in the Xbox Meet the Athletes article. Both Xbox and the Special Olympics want to grow the contest size every year. They do this by giving the current athletes a personal introduction since it can open others to active participation when they see peers willing to do so themselves. Also, the Special Olympics is expanding local esports tournaments to feed into the finales through a partnership with Smash.gg, which hosts the current set of competitions. The partnership will provide training and other information on establishing and running local tournaments after the recent event finishes for anyone interested in participating further.

Video games offer anyone a way to escape daily life into a broad and unconfined space, and the Special Olympics Gaming for Inclusion Tournament with Microsoft is an excellent example of this feature in action. Expanding esports through diverse events can strengthen its overall viability and fanbase. The Load Screen applauds inclusive experiences that are safe for competitors, so we will follow the rest of the digital event on the Xbox Twitch channel or the Special Olympics YouTube channel as they unfold. For anyone interested in directly volunteering for Special Olympics, check out the Special Olympics volunteer page for how you can participate further.