We probably don’t even need to describe why the Entertainment Software Association (ESA for short, the organisers of E3) decided to go down this route.

ESA has told The Verge, “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. We are nonetheless excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.” No surprises there, right? We understand their reasoning, though…

In April last year, ESA openly stated on the event’s website, “The Entertainment Software Association looks forward to coming back together to celebrate E3 2022 in person.” According to Mike Futter, an ex-Game Informer editor and founder of F-Squared, the plans were cancelled months earlier, so the company didn’t start the year with that in mind. Futter explained everything in a tweet,

“I heard from sources in mid-November, before Omicron’s emergence at the end of that month, that the Entertainment Software Association had abandoned their dates for the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Entertainment Software Association’s event last summer was… not good. And publishers have learned they don’t need to pay exorbitant rates to the Entertainment Software Association to reach press and consumers.”

ESA has not yet announced its plans for E3 2022, so there are no details on the event date yet, but it will likely be in mid-June. However, in the age of the internet, any publisher can go independent. Sony and Nintendo already did so years ago (State of Play, Nintendo Direct), and the others have no significant obstacles either. For instance, Electronic Arts has gone independent from the ESA with EA Play Live. Even Ubisoft has held Ubisoft Forward, which is an equivalent of a press conference at the LACC… and Geoff Keighley (The Game Awards) quickly teased the return of Summer Game Fest after hearing about E3 going digital once again.

Source: Gematsu