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E3 will not be going forward as an in-person event this year and the prospect of there even being a virtual showcase is now being questioned by some in the media.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a massive toll on industry events (including Gamescom), due to the social distancing obligations and restrictions that have been enforced on venue capacity. Meanwhile, various publishers—such as Sony and Nintendo—have cottoned on to the fact that they don't need to go through organizers like the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to reach consumers anymore, as they can just host their own independent livestreams on YouTube instead.
For these reasons, back in the first year of the pandemic, E3 was outright canceled and there was no replacement for its physical expo. Then, in 2021, a stripped-back version of the conference was held digitally, without the presence of either EA or PlayStation, which made it feel considerably smaller.
Why Is E3 2022 Canceled?
While it was initially hoped that the in-person event would return in 2022, on account of the vaccine rollout, this is no longer the case. According to an ESA statement that was shared with IGN, the spread of the Omicron variant has disrupted any plans for this year's E3.
The statement reads: "Due to the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees, E3 will not be held in person in 2022 [...] We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon."
Will E3 2022 Be a Virtual Event?
IGN then reports that, in subsequent correspondence, the ESA was unable to confirm if a date had been formally set for a virtual E3 2022 showcase. This is quite unusual, given that the plans for the event would typically be well underway at this point and that journalists would have heard something by now.
well, what can you do! I'd been investigating this for the last few months. multiple folks told me their understanding was that the physical event had been quietly canceled months ago. and the ESA can't confirm the digital event, even now, five months outhttps://t.co/QcJt1ZoeN7
— Rebekah Valentine (@duckvalentine) January 6, 2022
VentureBeat has also pointed out that it often takes several months for companies to pull their booths together for E3, tacitly implying that there's not much time left to organize a digital event from scratch. After all, this is why the conference had to be outright scrapped in 2020, as it was too late for the ESA to pivot towards a virtual replacement.
There are now rumblings on social media that there may not be a digital event either this year, with some industry professionals (including Bloomberg's Jason Schreier) declaring that E3 is effectively "dead."
Sounds like E3 is all but dead. Can someone else come up with an excuse for everyone to go to LA in June? https://t.co/CrHUMJHyHw
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 6, 2022
These sentiments have also been echoed on Twitter by the likes of The Verge's Tom Warren and Daniel Camilo of Gaming Industry Biz.
Others have pointed out that with Nintendo, Sony and EA electing to skip 2021's conference, it already felt like E3 was in danger of becoming obsolete.
The ESA's event last summer was... not good. And publishers have learned they don't need to pay exorbitant rates to the ESA to reach press and consumers.
— Mike Futter (@Futterish) January 6, 2022
Newsweek has contacted the ESA to ask if it can offer any concrete details about the existence of a digital E3 conference taking place this year. At the time of publication, there has been no response.
