E3 will return in 2021 as a “reinvented and fully virtual” event, organizers announced on Tuesday. E3 2021 will take place from June 12th to 15th and will feature content from Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games and Koch Media, said the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in a news release.
Game developers and publishers will display their games at E3 2021 “directly to fans around the world,” said ESA. E3 2021 content will have free access, thanks to unannounced global media partners.
“We are evolving this year’s E3 into a more inclusive event, but we will still seek to excite fans with great revelations and privileged opportunities that make this event the indispensable center stage for video games,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, president and CEO of o ESA.
Although this year’s E3 is virtual, organizers say they are planning an in-person E3 2022.
Last year’s E3 was canceled due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. ESA canceled E3 2020 in March last year, saying in a statement at the time: “After growing and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we thought this was the best way to proceed during an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to host this event for our fans and supporters. “
In a vacuum, game publishers, media and other groups held a series of smaller game events spread throughout the summer and fall of 2020. Some of these events, like Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, are confirmed to return in 2021. Companies like Sony and Electronic Arts, which have not officially exhibited at E3 in years (and were not announced as part of this year’s exhibition), are likely to hold their own events unrelated to ESA’s plans.