The Entertainment Software Association has already announced that E3 will not take place in person this year, but now the online event could also be suspended in limbo. An industry insider says the ESA may also cancel the online event soon.
The ESA announced that its in-person event for 2022 would be canceled in a Jan. 6 statement to IGN. While the ESA is “looking forward” to the future of E3, the company hasn’t said whether E3 will hold another virtual conference this year.
Either way, summer has become a very busy season for the gaming industry. Gamers have events like Geoff Keighly’s Summer Games Fest to look forward to. Additionally, Microsoft and Sony have decided to hold their own virtual storefronts.
While many assume that E3 will hold an online event like in 2021, an industry insider isn’t so sure. In fact, they go so far as to say that E3 Online will “probably be canceled.”
E3 2022 virtual conference could be canceled
Industry insider and GamesBeat journalist Jeff Grubb recently uploaded a TikTok discussing the latest ESA announcement.
During this clip, he claimed that the ESA would also “probably cancel” the online portion of the event.
“E3 has been cancelled. Well, physically it was canceled,” he said. “Numerically…will probably be cancelled, too.” Geoff Keighley will organize the Summer Games Fest. We don’t know much.
While Grubb isn’t convinced there will be an online E3 this year, he still wasn’t ready to lock it down for sure. Only time will tell if another official announcement will arrive shortly.
@jeffgrubbsgamemes E3 is cancelled. It’s time for Jeff Grubb’s Game Mess. #E3 #games #gamemess #summergamefest
♬ are original – jeffgrubbsgamemes
Until the Entertainment Software Association makes a follow-up statement, we can’t say if E3 will take place in any capacity this year.
It seems, however, that the ESA plans to continue hosting E3 in the future. So while 2022 can be skipped, the event is still expected to come back to some extent down the line.
For the latest E3 updates, check out our E3 2022 homepage with all the info on this year’s event.