E3 2022 to be held online for the second year in a row as Omicron threats grow more severe

E3 2022, the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) gaming conference, has been confirmed as an online event this year. In a statement to the US media by E3’s organizing body, the Electronic Software Association (ESA), the growing threat of COVID-19 cases due to a new variant of the Omicron virus has led to the cancellation of all plans to create the virus. physical event this year.

A VentureBeat report quoted an ESA spokesperson: “Due to the ongoing health risks associated with COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and visitors, E3 will not be held in person in 2022. We remain incredibly excited about this event. the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.”

E3 2022 following in previous footsteps

This is the third edition of E3 that has been directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, ESA canceled the E3 2020 event as the first wave of the pandemic caused widespread market uncertainty and limited cross-border travel plans.

In 2021, the ESA posted an online version of E3 as various parts of the world, including India, faced the devastating impact of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Meanwhile, E3 2022 has been moved online again as Omicron’s latest variant continues the surge in COVID-19 cases worldwide.

Interestingly, E3 is one of the few conferences that has directly evolved into an online-only event. The current Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 was originally planned as an all-physical event, which subsequently led to a large number of exhibitors walking out at the last minute due to an increase in cases.

Interestingly, though, the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2022 is still slated to host an offline event from March 21-25. In the future, it remains to be seen how future events will change over the course of the year.