Digital trade show E3 2021 has added a bunch of new publishers to its lineup, giving extra padding to the highly-anticipated show. The new additions to E3 2021 include Sega, Gearbox, Bandai Namco, and several other noteworthy companies and publishers. In the past, appearances like these have been less significant, as publishers would often attend the show, not to present anything, but to meet with potential investors. In the new digital-only format, however, this is not an option.
E3 2021 has already confirmed publishers like Xbox, Nintendo, and more as attendees, likely meaning that the companies will hold press conferences and have big info blowouts. It's not exactly clear how the rest of the show will take shape, as press conferences typically take place the weekend before E3, while the rest of the show is devoted to fans and press hitting the show floor to play demos. Of course, that does beg the question of what exactly these publishers, who typically don't host press conferences, will be doing at the event.
Given that there's no show floor at E3 2021, it'll be interesting to see what kind of presence these various publishers have at the show. Sega, Gearbox, Bandai Namco, and Square Enix are confirmed for E3 2021 and they all usually have major booths at the show, but this year, without booths, it's unclear what they'll be showing. The ESA is still gathering exhibitors for the digital showcase, which could prove to be rather interesting in terms of the kind of show that's being built.
Perhaps E3 2021 will feature some sort of virtual show floor, allowing fans to play demos of upcoming games virtually. Xbox has tried this in some fashion before with indie games, but it's never really been done for large scale AAA games, with a few exceptions. E3 2021 will feature hosts like Greg Miller to interview developers and likely show hands-off demos, but for the most part, the rest of the structure of the show is rather unknown.
E3 2021 is expected to last several days, so there will no doubt be no shortage of games and things to see even outside of the event. 2021's release slate is still a bit vague and there's really next to no details about what 2022 and beyond looks like for many of these companies, so there will surely be plenty of reveals to get excited about, especially with new consoles to bolster new projects. E3 2021 will run from June 12 to June 15, 2021.
Source: E3
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May 06, 2021 at 05:12AM
