E3 2021 Is Happening This Summer
ESA will host E3 2021 in Los Angeles, hosted by ESA, which will be attended by a wide range of major companies including Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and WB Games. It will take place between 3 and 4 June 2021, with further details to be published shortly.
The E3 2021 will take the form of an online event, which reportedly means there won’t be much room for fans, press, and industry experts.
Organizers have also announced that the virtual event E3 will be broadcast from the Los Angeles Convention Center. E 3 promises that virtual streams and announcements will also be available online via supported mobile apps such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play. The E3 event also includes press conferences where video game publishers and manufacturers will talk about upcoming gaming products and video games, and much more.
Although these events are not exclusive to E3, some companies have begun shunning live press conferences in favor of pre-recorded video announcements. Bethesda followed the following year and the studio held its own conference hosted by E 3. Nintendo has had a steady presence of exhibitors in recent years, but in 2013 it switched to pre-recorded videos and announcements, and the company releases new Nintendo Directs every year.
Under the proposed format, each day of E3 would begin with a 30-minute preview, which will be conducted by one of the media partners of the ESA before the official press conference.
It seems highly likely that E3 2021 will be the largest gaming conference in the history of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Because it will be “virtual,” there will be keynotes from game companies such as Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Nintendo of America, as well as interviews with game company executives, features from well-known players, a panel discussion with industry experts, and an “E3 Awards Show” for the best games of 2020.
The cancellation of the physical version of E3 2021 will allow the virtual event to take place on the same day as the actual event, from 15 to 17 June 2021. The ESA, which hosts E3 every year, has scheduled E2 2021 for 3-4 June 2021 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and ESA – which includes all major gaming companies and publishers – has floated the idea of a virtual E5, and plans will remain in line. It is not yet clear what the E4 2021 will really look like or whether publishers will continue to host separate shows as part of their own events, but it is currently scheduled for June 15 and 17. Whether this year’s event adopts this format or takes place all by itself remains to be seen.
Some stressed that getting digital would be a major undertaking for E3, but stressed that video games are one of the most important industries in the US video game industry. While the major video game companies have successfully held their own virtual events in the past, E 3 is the largest and most prestigious gaming conference in North America and the world. In recent years, major video game publishers have lured record audiences into their own independent showcases.
Microsoft held frequent developer presentations last year, and it is expected that developers will be at E3 this year. While a digital version of E3 is in the works, other companies and organizations are stepping up their own virtual events to hold their respective video game events. Clinton and Cole both pointed out that the Electronic Software Association could take steps to ensure that E2 remains an integral part of the video game industry. It is unclear what the future of e3 will look like when the event is expected to resume in 2021, but we can only expect more announcements from developers who will be appearing there next year and beyond.
This is the 26th E3 after the event was canceled last year due to a lack of interest from the video game industry in the United States. We look forward to reviving e3 2021 as a reinvented event that brings fans, media, and industry together in a showcase celebrating the global video game industry. The growing video game industry will gather in Los Angeles to promote and showcase some of the best and most exciting new games in its history.