With the virtual event set to take place in a few short weeks, news of more companies joining the lineup is always cause for celebration.
List of New Companies Confirmed for E3 2021
In early April, we reported on the list of companies confirmed for E3 2021. However, later on, it was confirmed that the list was merely a copy of last year’s canceled event. Thus, not every company on the list was confirmed to show up at E3 2021. With that said, the Entertainment Software Association has confirmed the new companies that will be joining E3 2021. The certainty of there even being an E3 event this year was in question until just a few weeks ago. Due to the lingering concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the ESA decided to soldier on with the event after canceling it for the first time in 2020, with the simple compromise of holding the event online. Below is the lineup of new companies confirmed for E3 2021:
Bandai Namco Entertainment Gearbox Entertainment Freedom Games Devious Eye Entertainment Turtle Beach Verizon Binge XSEED Games
These nine companies will be joining the E3 2021 lineup along with others such as Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom, Take-Two Entertainment, Xbox, Nintendo, and Warner Bros. Games. Meanwhile, Electronic Arts and Sony, as well as Konami, all have stated that they won’t be joining E3 2021. Although in Konami’s case, the company’s decision to sit E3 2021 out wasn’t because they were planning on holding their own showcases. Instead, Konami explained that their decision to back out was due to “timing issues” while also teasing that the company had multiple key projects well into the development stages already. The first-ever all-digital E3 event is scheduled to take place from June 12 until June 15. Not only will this mark the first time that E3 will be held exclusively online, but it will also see a marked increase in competition. In addition to Sony and Electronic Arts, both of which are expected to hold their own showcases right around the same time, E3 2021 will have to contend with the Steam Next Fest, which will run from June 15 to June 17. Considering that more competition almost always leads to better products, here’s to hoping that the ESA puts even more of an effort towards making sure that E3 2021 goes off without a hitch.
