E3 In-Person Event Cancelled For The Third Year Due To COVID-19

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), one of the biggest conventions in the video game industry, has been canceled again this year as the new COVID-19 Omicron variant continues to sweep across the United States.

“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,” announced the Entertainment Software Association, the organizers of the event. “We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon.”

This marks the third year that E3 hasn’t been held in its usual venue at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event was cancelled entirely in 2020 during the height of the first wave of infections and was held in a fully-digital online-only event in 2021.

While the latter part of 2021 saw the return of several in-person events, including PAX West and The Game Awards 2021, we’re probably looking at another online version of E3 for 2022. Meanwhile, the Game Developer Conference is still moving ahead with their plans for an in-person event in March.

The funny thing is that the organizers seem to have foretold the cancellation, as you can see in the header above. Hopefully, this year doesn’t turn out to be 2020 too. Stay safe everyone.