The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad, though the event is still aired on ESPN and ABC despite the ownership change with additional coverage being aired on the Roku Channel.
The X Games have been held all over the world and typically include sports such as skateboarding, BMX, freestyle motocross, skiing and snowboarding. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, in addition to prize money. X Games events also feature music and culture elements like live music performances, athlete autograph sessions, and interactive, family-friendly exhibitions.
The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport in Rhode Island. The competition often features new tricks such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Shaun White's Double McTwist 1260 in snowboard, Dave Mirra's double backflip in BMX, Travis Pastrana's double backflip in freestyle motocross, Heath Frisby's first snowmobile frontflip, Chuck Carothers's first body varial in freestyle motocross, Henrik Harlaut's first nose-butter triple cork in Ski Big Air, Gus Kenworthy's first switch triple rodeo in a ski slopestyle competition and Torstein Horgmo's first landed triple cork in a snowboard competition.
The X Games gained media exposure due to their big name sponsors, top-tier athletes, and consistent fan attendance. As the Journal of Sport Management (2006) explains, Generation X and Millennials are the two demographics most highly valued by marketers. This creates a broad approach on marketing towards that certain demographic, which is why the X Games marketing and economic outlook is so "out of the box". According to a 2008 report by ESPN, in 1997, the Winter X Games inaugural year, 38,000 spectators attended the four-day event. In 1998, the attendance dropped to 25,000 spectators. But just two years later, a record attendance of 83,500 people attended the Winter X Games East Coast debut.
As part of the X Games, there have been performances by various rock bands over the years, as well as a DJ being on-site at all events. The X Games have made it a point since its founding to stage an eco-friendly event. Such measures include using biodiesel fuel in their vehicles and organizing recycling campaigns.
Winter X Games
The first Winter X Games took place at Snow Summit ski resort in Big Bear Lake, California, in 1997. Overseeing The Sports Network's coverage of the inaugural 1997 Winter X Games, producer Paul Graham felt that despite low ratings at the time, "extreme sport is a statement", that it "[rebelled] against the sporting status quo", and "it's new and fresh and young".
The following two years, X Games was held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado. The two years following that, Mount Snow, Vermont, hosted X Games. The X Games Aspen 2002 was the first time an X Games event was televised live and also had coverage by ESPN's flagship news program, SportsCenter. Viewership across the three networks that carried coverage of the event – ABC Sports, ESPN, and ESPN2 – exceeded 2001's household average by 30% according to Nielsen Media Research. The event also reached record highs in several demographic categories. To accommodate the first-time live coverage, nighttime competitions were added, resulting in record attendance for the Aspen/Snowmass venue in Colorado.
2002 was the first time X Games was held in Aspen at Buttermilk Mountain. X Games has been held in Aspen every winter since 2002. Also in 2002, ESPN announced the establishment of the X Games Global Championship. The Global Championship featured two distinct venues hosting competitions in summer and winter action sports simultaneously. It consisted of six teams of the world's top athletes, grouped together by their region of origin, to compete in the four-day event. The winter sports were held in Whistler Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, and the events included snowboarding and skiing.
During X Games Aspen 2015, ESPN used camera drones to capture aerial views of the athlete's runs. This was a first for ESPN.
Global expansion X Games Asia have been held annually since 1998.
In May 2003, the X Games held the Global Championships, a special event where athletes from five continents competed across 11 disciplines. The event was held in two locations: the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and Whistler, British Columbia. The final team results, in order, were the United States, Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America.
In May 2011, ESPN held a bid to select three host cities in addition to Los Angeles, Aspen, and Tignes, France, to form a six-event calendar for the next three years beginning in 2013.ESPN announces bid process for the X Games and Winter X Games – ESPN, May 17, 2011 In May 2012, the selected cities were announced: Barcelona, Spain; Munich, Germany; and Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.Devon O'Neil, X Games expands globally, Xgames.com, May 1, 2012 The two European cities have hosted the Summer Olympic Games in the past, whereas Brazil has provided several X Games competitors. Since 2010, Winter X Games Europe has been held in Tignes and also began holding events in Norway in 2016. An event in Sydney, Australia was held in 2018 and winter and summer events were also planned for 2019 and 2020 in China and a return trip to Norway in 2020.
X Games Chiba, the first edition to take place in Japan, was introduced in 2022.
X Games League In 2026, the X Games League (XGL) was launched to transform X Games into a year-round global league and introduced city-based teams. The inaugural X Games clubs represented Los Angeles, New York City, São Paulo and Tokyo. The innagural XGL draft was held in March 2026. Each X Games Club featured 10 athletes, five men and five women, selected through the draft to compete together during season. Forty athletes were selected from a pool of more than 180 who opted into the draft. The team with the highest cumulative score across the season will be crowned the X Games League champion. This event made its debut in June 2026 at the X Games in Sacramento, California. XC New York won the inaugural summer XGL championship with 2,640 points, while Mizuho Hasegawa finished the season with 680 points and was named MVP.
Events Current Summer
BMX Freestyle BMX Park BMX Park Best Trick BMX Street BMX Dirt BMX Dirt Best Trick
Esports MLG Call of Duty RLCS Rocket League MLG Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Moto X Moto X Best Whip Moto X Best Trick
Real Video Series Real Street Real BMX Real Moto Real MTB Real Women
Skateboarding Skateboard Vert Skateboard Vert Best Trick Skateboard Park Skateboard Park Best Trick Skateboard Street Skateboard Street Best Trick
Current Winter
Skiing Ski Big Air Men's Ski Slopestyle Women's Ski Slopestyle Men's Ski Superpipe Women's Ski Superpipe Knuckle Huck
Snowboarding Snowboard Big Air Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Men's Snowboard Superpipe Women's Snowboard Superpipe Knuckle Huck
Snowmobiling Freestyle Snowmobiling Speed and Style Snowmobiling Real Video Series Real Snow Real Snow Backcountry Real Ski Backcountry
Past Summer
Aggressive inline skating Vert Skating Vert Skating Triples Vert Skating Best Trick Street Skating Park Skating
BMX BMX Big Air BMX Flatland BMX Downhill BMX Vert BMX Vert Doubles BMX Vert Best Trick
Mountain Bike Mountain Bike Slopestyle Mountain Bike Trials Mountain Bike Slalom Mountain Bike Giant Slalom Red Bull Phenom MTB
Moto X Moto X Step Up Men's Moto X Racing Women's Moto X Racing Moto X Speed and Style Moto X Adaptive Racing Men's Moto X Endurocross Women's Moto X Endurocross Moto X SuperMoto Moto X Flat Track Moto X Hooligan Flat Track Moto X Doubles Moto X Freestyle Moto X 110 Moto X Quarterpipe
Rally & Off-Road Truck Rallycross Lites Racing Rallycross SuperCar Racing Rally Super Special Gymkhana Grid Stadium Super Trucks
Skateboarding Skateboard Big Air Skateboard Big Air Rail Jam Downhill Skateboarding Skateboard Vert Doubles Women's Skateboard Vert Skateboard Game of SK8 SLS Select Series Street League Skateboarding Skatercross
Red Bull Phenom Skateboard Street BMX Street
Surfing Surf SRF The Game (East vs West) Real Surf Big Wave
Other Climbing Street luge X-venture race Windsurfing Wakeboarding Skysurfing Bungee jumping Barefoot Waterski Jumping Pumptrack
Past Winter
Super Modified Snow Shovel Racing Snow Mountain Bike Racing Skiboarding Skicross Ice climbing Ultracross Snowskating Hillcross Snowmobile Best Trick Men's Skier X Women's Skier X Mono Skier X Men's Snowboard X Women's Snowboard X Snocross Snocross Adaptive Snow BikeCross Snow Bike Best Trick
Editions
Summarized from ESPN.com Alt URL
Summer X Games 1995: Extreme Games – Newport, Rhode Island & Providence, Rhode Island (June 24-July 1, 1995) Chris Senn wins the gold medal in Skateboard Street beating Tony Hawk who took the silver and Willy Santos who won Bronze. Justin Seers wins the gold medal in Barefoot Water Ski Jumping. After injuring his right leg during qualifying, Bob Pereyra wins the gold in Street Luge. Jay Miron takes the gold in BMX Dirt. Tony Hawk takes the gold in Skateboard Vert after Neal Hendrix bails on his final run. Mat Hoffman takes his first gold medal in BMX Vert. Robert "Fig" Naughton wins gold in Dual Downhill Mountain bike. Cheri Elliott wins gold in Dual Downhill Mountain bike. 1996: X Games II – Providence & Newport (June 24-30, 1996) Dave Mirra wins his first gold medal in BMX Street. Rodil de Araujo Jr. takes the gold in Skateboard Street. Joey Garcia takes the gold medal in BMX Dirt. Mat Hoffman takes his second gold medal in BMX Vert. 1997: X Games III – Mission Beach, San Diego, California (June 20–28, 1997) T.J. Lavin takes the gold medal in BMX Dirt, edging out Brian Foster and Ryan Nyquist. Dave Mirra takes his second gold medal in BMX Street. In the debut of Skateboard Vert Doubles, Tony Hawk and Andy Macdonald teamed up and took home the gold. Snowboarding Big-Air makes its debut at the Summer X Games with Peter Line taking the gold for the men and Tina Dixon taking the gold for the women. In Skateboard Vert, Tony Hawk took home the gold with the first of his many history-making moments at the X Games: the "Perfect Run". His score was a 97.50. Chris Senn takes home his second gold medal in Skateboard Street. Trevor Meyer takes the gold in the debut of Flatland BMX. 1998: X Games IV – San Diego (June 1998) The team of Dennis McCoy and Dave Mirra take the gold in BMX Vert Doubles. Brian Foster edges out Ryan Nyquist and Joey Garcia to take gold in BMX Dirt. Dave Mirra takes his third gold medal in BMX Street. Trevor Meyer claims his second gold medal in Flatland BMX. Tony Hawk and Andy MacDonald take home their second gold medal in Skateboard Vert Doubles. Rodil de Araujo Jr. takes his second gold medal in Skateboard Street after missing the '97 games with an injury. 1999: X Games V – Pier 30 & 32, San Francisco (June 25 – July 3, 1999) Dennis Derammelaere takes the gold in Dual Street Luge. Dave Mirra wins his fourth gold medal in BMX Street. Andy MacDonald and Tony Hawk claim their third gold medal in Skateboard Vert Doubles. First professional sporting event (full event) broadcast live on the Internet. After eleven failed attempts, skateboarder Tony Hawk finally landed a 900-degree spin (the 900). Travis Pastrana won the first-ever Moto X Freestyle event at the X Games, after dislocating his spine the previous spring. He also scored the highest run ever (99.00 points). 2000: X Games VI – Pier 30 & 32, San Francisco, California (August 17–22, 2000) Dave Mirra won BMX Park, landing the first-ever double backflip in competition.