As in 2020, E3 2022 is canceled due to Covid-19. In January, the organizers of the event had already announced that it would be held only remotely, like the previous year. Eventually it won’t hold at all. This news raises the question, is the unmissable Los Angeles video game fair still there?
The pandemic is not the only spoilsport
It all started on the evening of March 31, with a simple tweet from a certain Will Powers. Public relations manager for Razer, a computer brand specializing in gaming, he said he received an email informing him of the cancellation of the virtual E3 2022.
Just got an email… It’s official, E3 digital is official canceled for 2022. Lots of mixed feelings about this…
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— Will Powers ? NYC (@WillJPowers) March 31, 2022
The information spread on social networks until it was confirmed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the organizer of the event, withIGN. another medium, The Verge potentially sees a connection to a recent event, the Game Developers Conference. Organized from March 21 to 25 in San Francisco, several industry professionals testified to having caught Covid-19 following the event.
One thing is certain, this cancellation has worried the gaming community. E3, one, if not the biggest video game show in the world, is not spared from the ravages caused by the pandemic in the events sector.
Even before the virus spread, E3 was not in its best shape. In recent years, publishers and giants of the sector no longer attach as much importance to the summer event as before.
Today, everyone organizes their own event for their exclusive announcements: Sony’s State of Play, EA Play Live, Xbox Games Showcase, Nintendo’s direct… A way for these companies to better control their calendar and bad news for E3, less rich in exclusivity.
E3 2022 is dead? Long live E3 2023!
This unfavorable context may have led some to believe the worst case scenario, a pure and simple disappearance of the event. Nay, the ESA hastened to communicate. On the contrary, the association announced that ” E3 will return in 2023 with a reinvigorated edition “.
The ESA precisely explains its absence from 2022 to better prepare for 2023 and the big return to face-to-face, ” we will devote all of our energy and resources to delivering a revitalized physical and digital E3 experience next summer. “. E3 is therefore not dead and that’s good.