Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have heard that EAS (Entertainment Software Association) has announced that E3 will in fact not be held in person this year following a statement made with Venturebeat.
Quoted directly from the article, “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,” it continues, “We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon”.
While this may seem like a surprise to some, to others this is very much expected as the number of Omicron cases rise in the country. Holding such a huge conference puts public health at risk and closing it for the safety of their attendees, vendors, entertainers, and workers is definitely a smart and respectable choice.
Unfortunately, there has yet to be the word when and if the event would be held virtually again this year, as it has been for the past two years. But no news can be seen as good news and ESA hasn’t given any reason to think that it would be canceled altogether. Doing a virtual show still makes them money at the end of the day, so my thinking is that they’re still scrambling to get the virtual details in order.
Riding the sorrow of the face-to-face expo, Geoff Keighley wasted no time on setting up a brand new teaser for Summer Game Fest which kicks off, you guessed it, this summer! Hosted by Keighley himself, the SGF serves as a show that encompasses most, if not all major gaming events of the summer season. While the teaser doesn’t show much, it at least lets us know that Geoff isn’t going to let a little expo cancelation get him down.
It’s also worth noting that there is a lot to be excited about this year in gaming and these new announcements and reveals are sure to be unveiled regardless of if E3 happens or not anyway. I’m just excited to see what SGF ‘22 brings to the table overall.
What do you think about E3 being canceled as an in-person event this year? Do you think it should have stayed open just in case or do you think delaying an in-person event until 2023 is a smart idea? Comment below and let us know!
