Sony stands out for its absence from this list and we contacted the company for comment. Other major absent companies include EA (which recently preferred to host its own EA Play events during E3’s time), Square Enix, Sega, Bandai Namco, Tencent, 505 and Activision Blizzard.
ESA makes it clear that the list of partners marks “initial commitments”, so that other publishers and developers can come on board at a later date. However, prior to the cancellation of the pandemic-related program, Sony confirmed that it had no plans to attend E3 2020.After announcing that the show would return as an exclusively digital event, the E3 website promises “live press conferences and a four-day video stream” and says the show will be “a reinvented and hyper-engaged digital experience”.
The concrete details about the show are still scarce, but ESA President Stanley Pierre-Louis used a press release to say: “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 central stage for video games. “
What we do know for sure is that the event will be completely free. After previous reports that parts of E3 2021 could be placed behind paywalls, ESA told IGN that “E3’s 2021 digital show is a free event for all participants”.
Joe Skrebels is the Executive News Editor at IGN. Follow him on Twitter. Do you have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to [email protected].