E3 2022 Could Be A Physical/Digital Hybrid Show

E3 2022 is already being planned, and it could return to an in-person show, albeit with some digital elements as well. Stanley Pierre-Louis, the CEO of the ESA, said in an interview that future E3 events will "probably be a mix of physical and digital," though nothing is decided yet and feedback from 2021's show will inform next year's.

"The shape of that is yet to be determined, and we hope to learn from this year's event what transfers well," he told GI.biz. "I can't speak to future E3s because we really want to focus on E3 2021 and ensure this is a great experience for exhibitors, the media, and fans alike."

While Pierre-Louis wouldn't be drawn into commenting on next year's show, he did speak to the fact that gaming overall is booming right now due in part to the pandemic.

"We're in this golden age of video gaming because more people have been exposed to games over this past year than before," he said. "The video game audience was large, and because of the pandemic, many people were reintroduced or introduced for the first time to games, and that created lots of opportunities for these platforms to really emerge."

Head to GI.biz to read the full interview, which also includes commentary from Pierre-Louis on NFTs, betting, and other hot-button issues.

E3 2021 officially kicks off on June 12, though June's festivities already kicked into high gear with DICE's big announcement of Battlefield 2042. Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest begins on June 10 with some major announcements planned, before the Ubisoft Forward and Xbox/Bethesda press conferences over the weekend. Nintendo wraps things up with its own Nintendo Direct E3 briefing on June 15. For more, check out the full E3 2021 schedule.