Report: E3 2021 Will Be An All Digital Event

After cancelling last year’s show due to the pandemic, it appears as if E3 will be returning this year in the form of an all-digital event. According to a report from Video Games Chronicle, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has created their proposal for what they want E3 2021 to be like. Their plans consist of three days of live-streamed shows that will take place during the June 15th-17th period they previously announced.

These livestreams would include multiple keynote sessions, an awards show, and a preview night on June 14th, amongst other smaller streams hosted by different publishers, influencers, and media outlets. Media previews would also be released one week prior to the show, and demos would be made available for consumers to try out.

The one thing that’s keeping these E3 plans from happening is the approval from members of the ESA, as it’s made up of many big name companies in the industry. One person that will not have anything to do with E3 this year is Geoff Keighley. Last year he stepped away from the show and created his own event called Summer Games Fest. This year he intends to focus on Summer Games Fest again, and has stated that it will be less than a month long as opposed to being spread out over multiple months like in 2020.

While not confirming any of the specifics for their E3 plans this year, the ESA did release a statement to VGC about the report. “We can confirm that we are transforming the E3 experience for 2021 and will soon share exact details on how we’re bringing the global video game community together.”

E3 has been due for a shake up for years now. With multiple big name publishers including Sony and EA removing themselves from the show over the years, and the rise of digital presentations that released directly to the consumers, many have wondered if E3 was relevant anymore. It’s an even tougher question to answer after a year in which many publishers saw success by putting on their own digital presentations throughout the year in lieu of E3. Only time will tell if their new plan will be enough to keep E3 around going forward.