FAQ
The format can be applied to any sport with a video game equivalent – football, basketball, hockey, racing and more – making it one of the fastest-growing new sport formats in the world. Learn more about phygital sport, its origins, governing bodies, and global growth here.
Phygital sports – hybrid disciplines like Phygital Football and Phygital Basketball, where athletes must compete in both a gaming round and a live athletic match, with both scores counting toward the result
Esports – pure competitive gaming titles including Dota 2 and mobile esports formats
Tech sports – emerging technology-driven competitions such as Drone Racing and Battle of Robots
Each edition brings together elite athletes and competitive gamers from across the world, competing in front of live crowds and a global broadcast audience.
The host city rotates annually. In 2025, the tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Games of the Future 2026 takes place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 29 July to 9 August.
Core phygital disciplines – including Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, Phygital Shooter, and Phygital Dancing – feature at every edition. Additional disciplines vary by year.
Competition venues include the Barys Arena, Beeline Arena, the Athletics Sports Complex "Qazaqstan", Alau Ice Palace, and the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace. Alongside the main competition, the week includes a Fan Zone (add link), a Comic Con crossover event, and the Phygital Sport Summit (add link) – a one-day conference bringing together the biggest names in sport, tech, and gaming.
For tickets, visit the GOTF 2026 ticket page. For breaking news and the full tournament schedule, head to the Games of the Future Astana 2026 hub.
- Join or register a club – Contact your nearest WPC member (there are 120+ worldwide). They'll connect you with local phygital clubs or help you register your own. Phygital sport isn't nationality-based – you can join a club in any country.
- Compete in Phygital Origins – Local/regional tournaments held each season.
- Advance to Phygital Rivals – These are national-level competition for the best teams from Phygital Origins.
- Global club rankings – After the season, all clubs are ranked globally based on tournament results (see ranking criteria).
- Direct qualification or Phygital Contenders – The top 2–3 clubs (depending on discipline) qualify directly for the Games of the Future. Other high-ranking clubs compete in Phygital Contenders, an international event run by Phygital International (the sport's governing body). Top performers there also qualify.
Want to know more? See the complete qualification pathway explained.
Prize money is allocated per discipline as follows:
Full schedule details, tickets, and details of each discipline are available on the official Games of the Future Astana 2026 website.
Esports is pure competitive gaming. Players compete entirely in a digital environment – titles such as League of Legends, Valorant or FIFA esports involve no physical performance component whatsoever.
Phygital sport combines competitive gaming with live athletic competition. In Phygital Football, for example, a team must perform on the controller and then compete in a live 5v5 match on the pitch. Both scores count toward the final result. You cannot win by excelling in only one dimension.
| Esports | Phygital sport | |
|---|---|---|
| Gaming skill required | ✓ | ✓ |
| Physical athletic performance | ✗ | ✓ |
| Combined scoring | ✗ | ✓ |
Phygital sport is designed to find a new kind of athlete – one who competes at the highest level in both the digital and physical arenas. Games of the Future is the first global stage built specifically for that competitor.
The digital round – teams compete head-to-head in UFL. The final score is recorded and carries forward.
The physical round – The same two teams play a 10-minute 5v5 futsal match on a compact pitch.
Our Phygital Football page gives a general overview of Phygital Football rules, including team sizes, substitutions and what happens in a draw. You can also download the full Phygital Rulebook here, which gives in-depth details on technical rules for all phygital sports.
The GOTF Streaming Community is also an important distribution channel – those who sign up get access to the professional-quality broadcast feed and the tools required to deliver a premium viewing experience.
For short-form content, highlights, and behind-the-scenes footage, follow the official Games of the Future channels on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Ticket pricing:
| Ticket Type | Price |
|---|---|
| Day Pass | 8,000 KZT (US$17) |
| Children's | 4,000 KZT (US$8.50) |
Day Passes cover group stage action across six disciplines: Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, MOBA Mobile, MOBA PC, Battle Royale, and Phygital Shooter. VIP group stage tickets are also available, with Playoff and Final passes on sale now.
Concessions apply:
- 25% off for students,
- 50% off for children
- free admission for people with limited mobility plus one accompanying person.
Competitions are held across four venues in Astana: Beeline Arena, the Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex, Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace, and Barys Arena – bringing phygital competition to the heart of the city.
Here's how it works:
- Affiliate with your national phygital federation. Every club must first register through a national federation. Remember that any team can join any federation in any country – nationality is not a barrier.
- Register your teams by discipline – the WPC oversees Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, Phygital Shooter and Phygital Dancing. Once affiliated, you can enter teams across phygital disciplines and gain access to the WPC ranking system.
- Enter Phygital Origins (local/regional tournament) and Phygital Rivals (national-level tournaments). This is the pathway to Games of the Future – open to clubs of every size, from grassroots community teams to established esports organizations.
Ready to get started? Find a full list of WPC members in the Members’ Catalog, get in touch with a federation and kick off your phygital career today.
From there, the top-ranked teams qualify directly for the Games of the Future. The next group aren't out — they enter Phygital Contenders, a last-chance tournament also run by Phygital International, where international teams battle each other for the remaining GOTF spots.
So, whether you make it straight through or do it the hard way – all roads lead to GOTF.
The World Phygital Community has over 120 member nations across every continent, but not every country is represented at every GOTF. That’s because it’s teams, clubs and athletes that qualify for GOTF, not nations. So, a football club from Brazil isn't there representing Brazil – they earned their spot by ranking among the best clubs in the world or coming through Phygital Contenders. And because there are no nationality restrictions in phygital sport, one team can easily have players from five or six different countries.
That openness is what makes phygital sport different. In traditional sports, geography and money have shaped who gets to compete at the top for decades. In phygital, any elite gamer-athlete from anywhere in the world can show up and take on the best.
Volunteers were recruited across four role types:Â
- Service Line – logistics and crowd supportÂ
- Protocol – guest and delegation liaisonÂ
- Competition Venue – sports and esports operationsÂ
- Team Leaders – on-ground coordinationÂ
Requirements were:Â
- Aged 16+Â
- B2 English or higherÂ
- Reliable and available for pre-Games trainingÂ
- Able to arrange your own transport/accommodation in AstanaÂ
No prior experience was needed. In return, volunteers received an official uniform, meals on shift days, full training, accreditation, and a CV-ready certificate.Â
Follow us to be notified when applications open for future Games of the Future events.The change is already happening. Games of the Future 2025 in Abu Dhabi pulled in 850+ competitors from over 60 countries, competing across 11 disciplines that mixed esports, tech sports, and real physical competition, all for a $5 million prize pool. Competitors ranged from 13 to 72 years old — proof this format pulls in everyone from Gen Z gamers to seasoned athletes, which neither traditional sport nor pure esports can do alone.
It’s growing fast because of better VR/AR tech, a growing demand for hybrid fitness experiences, and brands chasing an audience that wants both the physicality of live sport and the connectivity of gaming. Following Abu Dhabi in 2025 and Astana 2026, the 2027 hosts have already been shortlisted (Brazil, Serbia, South Africa, Uzbekistan) – proof that it's becoming a real global circuit, and young fans are the ones driving it.
Phygital Basketball shows how this works in practice. In the digital stage, two teams face off in a 2-on-2 video game match, and the first side to reach 19 points wins that stage. Then, instead of starting from zero, both teams carry their digital score straight into the physical stage – a real 2-on-2 match on a basketball court. That match ends when one team reaches 39 combined points or when 7 minutes are up, whichever comes first. So, a team that wins the digital stage 19–12 holds that lead going into the physical stage – but it's far from safe, since the physical stage can easily swing the result the other way.
A team that runs up a huge digital score but struggles physically can still be beaten by a more balanced opponent. This is by design because the format rewards complete athletes, not specialists.
If the combined score is tied after both stages, different deciders apply according to the discipline. Phygital Basketball, for example, goes to a free-throw showdown, while Phygital Football will go to a penalty shoot-out.
For a fuller explanation of how each phygital sport works, visit the Phygital Disciplines section, or download the World Phygital Community Rulebook.