Earlier this week, we finally got some news about the digital-only E3 event for 2021. We now know that a number of companies are involved, and the event will be completely online. So far Nintendo, Capcom, Xbox, Ubisoft, Konami, Koch Media, Warner Bros, and Ubisoft have all backed the event. While these companies may still hold their own online events around the same time for their own announcements, they’re going to feature their games at E3 2021. Whether this is in a public or press capacity only remains to be seen. It could go either way.
It’s been a tricky start to the year for E3. It looked like things like big events might be able to go ahead. Even if they were okayed by all the national governments though, I don’t think any of us would feel comfortable attending. That’s why the organizers have spent the past year putting together this digital-only event plan. It sounds like all the usual big hitters are on board. Sony hasn’t been part of E3 for a while now, but to see Nintendo there at all is a very big surprise. For a couple of years, Xbox had the event all to themselves, now they’ve got to get used to sharing the stage again.
I’m extremely excited for a digital-only E3. It’s a simplified version of the event that does away with all the faff of heading to the right room at the right time. You can also watch everything instead of picking and choosing events. The worst thing about an event is missing something, but this way there’s nothing to miss. It’ll all be on YouTube within hours, so you may as well just work through it all.
Ubisoft is a surprising name on the list of those that have backed the event. The company held its own event last year, and it was great. They were able to announce things when they were ready, and no one felt like they were holding back. My hope for this year is that all those involved are ready to reveal what they have. If not, then it’s going to be quite a difficult time for all the developers involved.