A new diplomatic initiative is leveraging esports as a tool for cultural connection, with the German Embassies in Japan and South Korea organising a transnational League of Legends tournament. Named .DE (Diplomacy Meets Esports), the project aims to create a platform for connection beyond cultural and social values while sharing aspects of German culture with international communities.
The tournament format involves online regional qualifiers in South Korea and Japan, with the winning team from each nation progressing to an offline final in Tokyo. They will be joined by a specially invited, undisclosed team from Germany. The Korea Qualifier is scheduled for 7 February, with registrations closing on 30 January. The Japan Qualifier will be held on 11 February, with a registration deadline of 6 February. The Offline Final will take place at the Shibuya eStadium in Tokyo.
According to the tournament information, a core goal is to “create a platform where people can connect beyond cultural and social values, while sharing the diverse appeal of German culture with the international community.” Participation requires standard entry details, including a Riot ID and Discord ID, with players under the age of majority in their region needing to submit a parental consent form.
Analysing the initiative, Tobias Scholz, Academic Esports at the University of Agder, noted its significance lies in who is behind it. “This isn’t a publisher, a brand, or a commercial league experiment. It’s diplomacy choosing esports as a medium,” he stated on LinkedIn. Scholz argues that when an embassy uses esports as a platform, it signals that competitive gaming is a legitimate social and diplomatic space for organic cross-border interaction.
“From a research perspective, this makes a lot of sense,” Scholz added. “Academic work shows that esports environments foster digital literacy, teamwork under pressure, strategic thinking, and global competencies… What initiatives like .DE demonstrate is that esports doesn’t need to be ‘gamified diplomacy’ or symbolic outreach. It already functions as a transnational space.”
The initiative reflects a growing trend of governmental and diplomatic bodies engaging with the esports ecosystem to reach younger, digitally-native demographics and foster international relations. The tournament’s structure, bringing together players from three nations through a common competitive framework, exemplifies this practical application.
Teams can enter via region-specific forms provided by the embassies. Further details on the rulebook and broadcast information for the final are expected to be released soon.
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