Nearly every facet of daily life was impacted or altered in some way due to the massive COVID-19 pandemic. Though restrictions are beginning to fall away as the number of people vaccinated or otherwise exposed to the virus rises, some groups and companies are still taking precautions.

Previously, rumors began to swirl that E3 2022 wouldn't follow in E3 2021's footsteps as a virtual event. Though the organizers had previously stated that E3 2022 be a purely digital event, recent rumors indicated that the expo would instead be canceled outright.

It seems that those rumors may have been false, though, in the light of new information. Renowned game insider Tom Henderson has now sent out a tweet claiming to have new details straight from the ESRB. According to Henderson, emails were sent out to game developers from the ESRB that referred to E3 2022 as being digital-only. It wouldn't make much sense for the organizers and ESRB to continue releasing information and details regarding the event if it had indeed been canceled.

E3 will be an entirely digital event again this year according to the ESRB who sent out emails to developers today.

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) March 10, 2022

Of course, some might be worried about this rumor. After all, if other rumors have turned out to be false, there's always a chance that this one is, too. However, it's highly unlikely. Tom Henderson has previously revealed or leaked information regarding games and the industry as a whole accurately. He nailed the date for the Call of Duty: Vanguard reveal perfectly back in 2021. While he wasn't 100% accurate regarding the GTA Remastered Trilogy being delayed into 2022, he did note that there were concerns about pushing both it and the GTA 5 PS5/Xbox Series version out in the same window. The only difference is that the GTA 5 remaster release was pushed into 2022, rather than the trilogy.

E3 has been a cornerstone of the game industry for ages, serving as a place to announce new games and reveal gameplay or cinematic footage. It's morphed quite a bit over the years, shifting inbetween being an industry-only event to fans being allowed in, and of course, going entirely online in order to avoid spreading COVID-19. While the event still draws the eyes of many, some have called for E3 to evolve in order to set itself apart, especially as individual developers and publishers can now promote themselves in the same capacity online.

With E3 2022's expected start date just a few months off, fans should likely consider it to still be happening. It remains to be seen if E3 2022 will have any showstoppers that generate attention and excitement for the event and its reveals, but for gamers who are accustomed to a slew of new games being announced in June, that seems unlikely to change this year.

Posted: Mar 13, 2022 11:07 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://gamerant.com/e3-2022-not-canceled-digital-only-event/