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The Electronic Software Association has announced the cancellation of the in-person event of E3 for 2022.
In a statement to IGN, the ESA said the reason was, as you’ve no doubt guessed, the ongoing global pandemic. “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”.
Previous years had seen the event’s cancellation lead to an online-only version of the show. However, that’s not certain to be the case here just yet. Following up with IGN, the body said it could not confirm or deny a digital event as a replacement. As it stands, the future of the event now looks uncertain.
This summer will now mark three years since the annual E3 showcase has been held in person, with the last such show taking place in 2019. The ESA cancelled 2020’s show in March of that year, with “increased and overwhelming concerns” of the COVID-19 outbreak cited as the cause. E3 2021 would play out in a similar fashion, cancelling in March with a three-day virtual event taking its place.
In the wake of the announcement that first year, The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley announced the Summer Game Fest. It was pitched as a virtual showcase running alongside—although officially separate from—E3 itself. The show returned in 2021, and Keighley has now taken the fallout from last night’s news to confirm it’ll be back in 2022. So there will be some form of gaming showcase this summer. Whether the ESA’s official show will have a presence after a turbulent few years, we’ll have to wait and see.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) January 6, 2022
