Ain’t nobody getting any networking done this year, either.
2020 saw E3 canceled outright. 2021 transitioned to a purely online show. And, in the wake of the Omicron variant of the virus, 2022 will keep the show online.
This comes from the Entertainment Software Association (the ruling body that runs the annual trade show), from a statement shared with GamesBeat. Notably, they site the spike of infections thanks to the Omicron Persei 8 variant.
“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,” the ESA said in a statement to GamesBeat. “We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.”
This probably isn’t much of a surprise, honestly, even though there had been ruminations that E3 would return as an in-person event this year. That said, anyone following things closely might have known otherwise; per business analyst Mike Futter over on Twitter:
Considering the fact that last year’s show was something of a mess (and I don’t even think we really bothered covering it), optimism isn’t high for this year. Especially as the likes of the Big 3, as well as others, have long been aware that having their own pre-recorded event was fairly effective on its own. There’s no telling if E3 will come back as it was once all of this is over. I’m thinking it’s possible, since the real E3 was never the show floor, but it’s really anyone’s guess at this point. Or maybe the Upsilon variant will screw things up even more and morph into some combination of Ebola and SARS transmissible by visual contact.
Source: Kotaku
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