The 2022 edition of Electronic Entertainment Expo, our dear E3, will be fully digital. The reason, as you can imagine, is the pandemic. With cases in the United States increasing because of the Omicron variant, the organization decided not to hold a face-to-face edition.
“Due to the current health risks from COVID-19 and the potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and visitors, E3 will not have an in-person edition in 2022”, ESA, responsible for organizing E3, told the website VentureBeat. “Still, we’re excited about the future of E3 and can’t wait to share more details.”
There is no way to confirm whether the site in question actually received a statement from the ESA, responsible for organizing the event. However, we are talking about a site with a certain tradition in the market, so it is quite likely that this is the case. Furthermore, it is a fact that the situation in the US is much worse than it could be.
The new vision of E3 comes after a series of crises and questions related to the importance and validity of the fair nowadays, especially after the departure of publishers such as Electronic Arts e Activision of the main event, preferring to create alternative spaces and events during the period.
Even before the cancellation of the 2020 edition, the Sony had already declared that he would not be part of that year’s E3, preferring to make their announcements and events themselves.
Geoff Keighley, presenter and organizer of The Game Awards, also ended his partnership with ESA, using the pandemic to create the event Summer Game Fest, between the months of May and August, closing with the European fair Gamescom.
Will we one day have E3 back to the old format? Maybe, but not this year.
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