Olympics Esports Series features chess, Gran Turismo, and Just Dance

destructoid.com:

The International Olympics Committee has unveiled a range of games being featured in the Olympics Esports Series, at its official Olympic Esports Week, this year in June. Its selections are, frankly, pretty odd.

The IOC has occasionally flirted with the idea of including virtual events in its traditionally physical environment. In the past, it’s hosted the Olympic Virtual Series, with its 2021 event taking place ahead of the previously-postponed Tokyo Olympics. But there has historically been some resistance to mixing video games, with all its explosions and such, with the Olympic Games.

Enter the Olympic Esports Series 2023, which will culminate in live, in-person finals this June. It’s set to feature nine events: Archery, Baseball, Chess, Cycling, Dance, Motor Sport, Sailing, Tennis, and Taekwondo.

To be clear, it is featuring virtual events of those, using specific games. Here’s the way that shakes out, as well as the organizing body associated with each competition.

Now, if you’re even a somewhat-lapsed viewer of Twitch.tv, you’ve probably noticed these aren’t the games topping the viewer charts each weekend. Games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike aren’t here. Instead, it’s a pretty sports-leaning production, and a bit of an odd one at that. Rather than opting for say, FIFA or NBA 2K, those real-world sports aren’t anywhere to be seen.

Some, like Chess and Gran Turismo, make a good deal of sense, but others are downright bizarre. This isn’t to downplay the achievements of anyone who’s good at these titles, as my Just Dance scores and Chess.com results will show I have little room to throw stones there. Choices like the simulator-adjacent games even seem in-line with the Olympics, wanting to highlight sports