The ESA, the organiser behind E3, has dismissed rumors that this year's E3 will be a paid, digital event, claiming the show will be free for all attendees.
Yesterday, a report from VGC claimed that the ESA would be going ahead with the planned digital event this summer, but that some of the content would be locked behind a paywall. Demos were allegedly going to be part of a "premium package" that would give attendees extra access and would cost $35. The ESA has now quickly put these rumors to bed, posting on Twitter that this summer's digital E3 show will be free.
As reported by Nintendo Life, the decision to pull the "premium package" plan was allegedly due to significant pushback from one company that would be a part of the show. It's unknown as to which company criticised the proposal, but the ESA were supposedly very quick to back down. We don't yet know which publishers will be appearing at E3, but we can gather that it must have been a fairly influential company to single-handedly change the ESA's plans.
As previously mentioned, E3 is going digital this year due to the pandemic making a standard physical show pretty much impossible. The show is set to start on June 15th and finish three days later on June 17th. During the show, we'll likely see lots of reveals for upcoming projects slated for release later this year as well as some unexpected surprises.
However, this year's E3 is likely to be a lot smaller in scale since a number of publishers are opting out, with both Sony and Nintendo opting to broadcast their own digital showcases instead. There are also rumors swirling that other publishers are unwilling to pay the six-figure sum the ESA is asking for to have a presence at this year's E3. Despite the show's popularity amongst the general public, E3 has struggled to remain relevant in the digital age. It'll be interesting to see how the show adapts over the coming years.