The ESA has announced that it has canceled the E3 2022 in-person event due to COVID-19 concerns, and now, there’s no word yet on if an online event will replace it.
Regarding the cancelation, the ESA read the following statement (via IGN): “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 remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.”
In IGN’s report, an online E3 2022 event is still uncertain based on communication with the ESA. Specifically, the ESA has yet to confirm if there will be an E3 2022 online event.
The cancelation of the E3 2022 in-person event is a big blow to the storied expo, especially considering that there has been no offline E3 since 2019 due to the ongoing pandemic. While the ESA did hold an online-only E3 last year, it remains to be seen if they are able to do one again this 2022. After all, since the pandemic began back in 2020, publishers have either held their own online events, or have joined other such events such as Summer Game Fest or the Game Awards to reveal their upcoming games lineup.
Source: IGN