E3 2021 confirms free digital show following paywall rumors

By Eric Abent/

With just a couple months to go before the show would normally kick off, we don't know a whole lot about E3 2021 yet. Earlier today, rumors started circulating which claimed that the Entertainment Software Association was considering putting at least some parts of the show behind a paywall. Now the ESA has pushed back against those rumors, in the process giving us an idea of what the show will look like later this year.

Today's original report came from Video Games Chronicle, which claimed that "multiple publishing sources" had told it that the ESA was considering putting some E3 2021 content behind a paywall. VGC said this paid content could potentially include on-demand game demos delivered through NVIDIA's GeForce Now service and even a "premium package" that granted extra access beyond what was offered for free.

In response to that report, the ESA published a tweet to the official E3 Twitter account, stating, "E3's 2021 digital show is a free event for all attendees. We've excited to fill you in on all the real news for the event very soon." While that doesn't give very much away, an ESA spokesperson did reiterate the free part in a follow-up statement to VGC, saying, "I can confirm on behalf of the ESA that there will be no elements at E3 2021 that will be behind a paid-for pass or paywall."

So, if you were worried that you were going to be cut off from some portion of the reveals slated for E3 this year, it seems that you can breathe a sigh of relief. While the ESA has officially revealed very little about what E3 2021 will look like, previous reports have claimed that the organization is pushing forward with an all-digital event. Last year, shortly after the cancellation of E3 2020, the ESA confirmed that E3 2021 will take place from June 15th – June 17th.

The ESA's tweet today says that more information is coming very soon, so hopefully it won't be long before we have a better grasp on what E3 2021 will entail. We'll let you know when the ESA reveals more, so stay tuned for that.

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