Gamers, get ready to start your summer on a high note.
IYMI, ESA is bringing all the E3 goodness to fans at home this year, with a slew of digital experiences, broadcasting, and streaming, running from June 12-15. Free fan registration for the event officially opened today. Attendees can look forward to publisher press conferences, developer interviews, panel discussions, and more with hosts Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez, Greg Miller, and Jacki Jing.
Some companies that will make a virtual E3 appearance include Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Nintendo, Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Games, and Xbox, among others. However, it appears that this year E3 is making a concerted effort to highlight indie game developers, following its partnership with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Through the partnership, IGDA will offer its members special packages and opportunities to be included in E3 2021. Indie developers joining this year’s show include 24 Entertainment, Burgos Games, Dreamteck, Ghost Street Games, Hooded Horse, Intellivision, NetEase, Razer, and more.
Noteworthy personalities in and outside of the video game industry will also be throwing their hats in the E3 experience, whether through segments or as part of the panel series “Voices of E3.” Fans can expect to see appearances from T-Pain (100 Thieves), Erika Ishii (Apex Legends, World of Warcraft), Arin Hanson (Game Grumps), Arif “Azerrz” Zahir (Family Guy), and JD Witherspoon (Lazor Wulf).
The “Voices of E3” panel series is set to cover a broad range of talent-related topics, including diversity, accessibility, video game development, video game voice acting, and the impact of current events on games. A few highlights include a conversation session with notable ladies in the video game voice acting industry — including Courtenay Taylor (Fallout 4, Call of Duty) and Anjali Bhimani (Overwatch, Apex Legends) — and insights from streaming leaders such as Tanya DePass (I Need Diverse Games) about representation in games and uplifting Black voices.
The last day — June 15 — seems to be the busiest for this event so far. Nintendo is set to host its E3 2021 Livestream at 9 a.m. PT/ noon ET. First, a Nintendo Direct presentation will feature about 40 minutes of information focused exclusively on Nintendo Switch games coming out this year. Next is a three-hour deep dive on gameplay for various Nintendo Switch games in a Nintendo Treehouse: Live segment. The presentation content may draw from Nintendo’s currently confirmed lineup for Nintendo Switch, which includes games such as Mario Golf: Super Rush, Project Triangle Strategy, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, and Splatoon 3, among others.
The official E3 2021 Awards Show is also set to take place on June 15. Editors from IGN, GameSpot, PC Gamer, and GamesRadar+ will select winners from titles showcased during the four-day live E3 broadcast and reveal their choices during this virtual awards presentation.
To help fans keep up with E3 events, there will be an E3 online portal and supporting mobile app, where exhibitors can create and host their own virtual “booths” — but not all E3 participating companies will have booths. Fans will be able to stream the event on both the portal and app, but also through E3’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The portal will provide access to lounges, discussion forums, profile customization, and select exhibitor booths. The E3 app is available to download for free on the App Store and Google Play.
To register for the free E3 virtual expo event, click here; to check out the official E3 2021 schedule, go here; and to discover more information about exhibitors, talent, games, and other E3 information, visit e3expo.com!
