E3 2021 Dates, Details Revealed

Following recent reports about this year’s E3 event, the Entertainment Software Association has confirmed the dates for E3 2021 as well as details about how this year’s event will go down. The show will indeed be conducted in an all-virtual environment like pretty much all major gaming events have been for the past year, and it’ll run from June 12th to June 15th. The ESA also confirmed some of the companies that have made commitments to be at the show, though there are some notably absent names in the list that we’ve seen so far.

A promise from the ESA made a few days ago said that we’d see more information about E3 2021 soon after some reports alleged that the event could be at least partially behind a paywall. Admission to E3 events in the past was usually sectioned off into tiers that got pricier as more perks were involved, but the ESA confirmed in its announcement on Tuesday that the event will be free for all with no mention of any paid or premium elements at this time.

While we haven’t yet seen a full list of people and companies who’ll be attending, the ESA shared a list of “early commitments” from several big-name companies. Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games, and Koch Media have all said that they plan on being at the show in some capacity. That list alone could include Xbox and Nintendo originals, Resident Evil and Monster Hunter games, whatever Konami’s been working on, Ubisoft’s vast catalog, and maybe if people are lucky, something from the Grand Theft Auto series.

There are a few names absent from the list, however. Blizzard, Square Enix, Electronic Arts, and notably PlayStation are a few who apparently haven’t made early commitments to be present at E3 2021. All of those companies have embraced the digital presentation format in the past year, however, and they’re known for holding their own events frequently enough, so it’s a safe assumption to say we’ll still hear from them all this summer even if it’s not under the E3 umbrella.

The ESA also confirmed that it still plans on holding an in-person event next year when E3 2022 is underway, but for E3 2021, it’ll all be conducted virtually.