In 2022, E3 will only take place as a digital event. The reason for this is the continued tense corona situation.
As last year, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will take place in a purely digital form. This is the third time in a row that the fair will not take place in its regular form. The organizer, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced this on Thursday. The reason for this should not surprise anyone: The current corona situation still does not allow mass events such as the E3. In particular, the rapid expansion of the Omikron variant throws a spanner in the works when it comes to performing in person.
Last year, ESA was planning to have E3 2022 take place on a real stage again, as before. Last year publishers broadcast free live streams to talk about their upcoming games and provide insights into the development of current projects. However, as the pandemic hit the industry hard, fans were disappointed with many of the presentations.
ESA has not yet given precise details about E3 2022, but has stated: “Nonetheless, we look forward to the future of E3 and to announcing further details soon.” It should not go unmentioned, however, that the organizer is losing a large part of its income for the third time in a row due to the failure of the E3 in a more regular form. To make matters worse, more and more publishers seem to be questioning the necessity of the E3 and are holding their own events around the time of the fair, in which they do not have to share the attention with other competitors all at once. The future of the E3 is therefore anything but certain.