With E3 2016 less than a month away I’m sure that there are plenty of us wishing we could attend. Unlike events like let’s say, Comic-Con International: San Diego or PAX, E3 is a trade event for professionals in the interactive entertainment industry and as such is closed to the general public. This year, however, the entertainment software association – otherwise known as the E3 organizers, has decided to do things a little differently and created E3 Live!

This all-new side event will be hosted at L.A. Live! which is walking distance from where E3 will take place. It is free to register for and attend, albeit on a first-come, first-served ticket distribution basis, and is completely designed around the concept of providing avid gamers a one-of-a-kind experience where, according to the E3 Live! website’s description, they will have the opportunity to test drive select gadgets, games, and gear. Additional experiences will include live entertainment such as music, dance competitions, and demos, as well as the chance to meet industry personalities, photo-ops, VR demo experiences, and of course, attendees will be able to purchase games, exclusive merchandise, and collectibles.

According to arstechnica, the following companies have plans to attend E3 Live! thus far:

Alienware
Facebook/Oculus
Frito-Lay
HTC Vive
Loot Crate
Monster
Twitch
Ubisoft
Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment

In addition, if you scored a ticket for the event you will also receive tickets for Nintendo’s super cool Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions concert at the Microsoft Theater on June 14.

http://bit.ly/1BsXZws Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions is becoming the must-see video game concert of the year, giving Pokémon fans of all ages the chance to experience live, beautiful music of the Pokémon franchise. All-new orchestral arrangements and carefully timed visuals draw from recent and classic Pokémon video games.

Given the limited availability of tickets for E3 Live! the event is already sold out mere hours after being announced and while this may not come as great news to some, depending on its success, the ESA may decide to increase the scale of next year’s iteration of the event and perhaps of E3 itself to provide greater access to gamers and further chances to attend. After all, the relevance of E3 in today’s environment of non-traditional marketing has been brought into question, and developers such as Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Wargaming, and Disney will have no presence on the show floor this year. It is no surprise then that the ESA is looking for ways to raise the event’s profile and is becoming open to the idea of being more inclusive of consumers.

E3 2016 will be held from June 14 to June 16 in Los Angeles, California and you can watch it live here.