"Learning is light": Kazakhstan will launch esports programs in at least seven universities by 2029

Kazakhstan is moving esports into government policy rather than leaving it to clubs and private leagues. The approved Concept for Esports Development (2025–2029) sets out a timeline: by 2029 at least seven HEIs (higher education institutions) are expected to offer specialized courses. Some of those will train players, sure, but the plan also points to programs in, e.g., game design, cybersec, analytics, management and events organization — not only match practice.

Regional academies are on the docket as well; they’d be sites for athletes, coaches and analysts to train. Student tournaments are meant to feed the talent pipeline — scouting built into campus life, in other words. Still, there’s an open question about specific claims: reports that Counter-Strike has already become a separate university discipline at the National University of Sports have no official backing and that program does not appear on the uni’s website.

A bit of context: esports has carried official sport status in Kazakhstan since 2018. The current concept includes upgrading venues, expanding curricula and hosting student-level competitions at home and abroad — ambitious, perhaps, but execution will tell.