E3 2021 (Concept)

E3 2021

CONCEPT

After the cancellation of E3 2020 due to COVID-19, E3 returned as a digital-only event taking place from June 12-15.

Overview

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ESA opted to hold E3 2021 as a digital-only event. As such, they temporarily changed "E3" to mean the Electronic Entertainment Experience, rather than Expo. E3 2021's digital events were hosted by Greg Miller, Jacki Jing, and Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez. The ESA has stated they plan on returning E3 to a physical event in 2022.

Press Conferences

Ubisoft Forward

Saturday, June 12 - 12:00 PM PDT

Ubisoft Forward 2021 was hosted by Neelam Kumar (Associate Communications Manager) and Youssef Maguid (Associate Editorial Communications Manager) from Ubisoft San Francisco (Company).
A trailer for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction was shown, highlighting the game's co-operative gameplay and various alien parasite enemies. Coming September 16, 2021.
Richard Stanford (Community Developer), Bruno Lalonde (Technical Director), and Alicia Fortier (Game Designer) from Ubisoft Montreal gave a gameplay overview. Extraction focuses around operators from Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, if an operator falls during a mission they can't be used until rescued in a separate mission. Extraction will feature cross-play, as well as unlocks for Rainbow Six Siege owners.
A [/videos/e3-2021-7-minutes-of-tom-clancys-rainbow-six-extraction/2300-16846/ gameplay demo] for Rainbow Six Extraction was shown.
A [/videos/e3-2021-learning-guitar-has-evolved-with-rocksmith/2300-16897/ trailer] for Rocksmith+ was shown. Closed beta out now.
Arthur von Nagel (Lead Producer at Ubisoft San Francisco) gave an overview of Rocksmith+. The game follows a subscription service model, and can use mobile devices as a microphone.
A [/videos/e3-2021-what-cant-you-ride-in-riders-republic/2300-16849/ trailer] for Riders Republic (Game) was shown. Coming September 2, 2021.
Guillaume Gad (Associate Producer) and Paul Vlasie (IT Director) from Ubisoft Montreal outlined quality of life features coming to Rainbow Six Siege, including cross-play and cross-progression.
A trailer was shown for Rainbow Six Siege's newest operator, Thunderbird.
A number of updates for Ubisoft's live-service games were announced. Trackmania (Game) will receive moving objects, reworked physics, and changes to water. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Franchise) will be added to Brawlhalla (Game) as playable characters. Aiden Pearce (Character) and Wrench will be added to Watch Dogs: Legion as playable characters.
Musician Todrick Hall discussed the appearance of his song in Just Dance 2022 (Game), stating the song to be a version exclusive to Just Dance. Just Dance 2022 coming November 4, 2021.
Karen Lee (Person) (Senior Community Developer at Ubisoft Montreal) discussed Assassin Creed: Valhalla's successful launch. Lee also discussed the game's upcoming expansion, The Siege of Paris, and teased a third expansion for the game centered around Odin.
A trailer for Mythic Quest season two was shown.
Josh Ruben (Director) and Sam Richardson (actor for Finn Wheeler) appeared to discuss Werewolves Within, a movie themed around the Ubisoft game of the same name.
A [/videos/e3-2021-meet-anton-from-far-cry-6/2300-16852/ trailer] was shown for Far Cry 6 (Game).
Omar Bouali (Person) (Game Content Director at Ubisoft Toronto) discussed Far Cry's history of villains, leading into an [/videos/e3-2021-become-past-villains-in-far-cry-6/2300-16853/ announcement trailer] for a Far Cry 6 expansion centered around Vaas Montenegro, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed.
An [/videos/e3-2021-the-weirdest-mash-up-in-recent-memory-returns-in-mario-rabbids-sparks-of-hope/2300-16854/ announcement trailer] was shown for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, featuring "Sparks" a species of half-Luma (Concept) half-Rabbids (Concept), and a new villain, Cursa. Coming 2022.
Yves Guillemot (Person) (CEO of ubisoft) appeared to conclude the presentation, thanking Ubisoft's developers, fans, and business partners, before seguing into "one more thing".
An announcement trailer for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was shown, coming 2022.

Devolver Digital

Saturday, June 12

???

Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase

Sunday, June 13 - 10:00 AM PDT

Todd Howard (Person) (Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios (Company)) opened the show by highlighting the history between Bethesda and Microsoft.
Howard introduced Starfield (Game), showing a [/videos/e3-2021-the-three-year-wait-for-starfield-news-is-over/2300-16901/ trailer] for the game, coming November 11, 2022.
Sarah Bond (Head of Xbox Creator Experience) took the stage to emphasize that Starfield will be an Xbox console exclusive, as well as formally beginning the show.
A [/videos/e3-2021-sit-around-the-campfire-and-reminisce-about-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-heart-of-chernobyl/2300-16902/ trailer] for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was shown, bearing the new subtitle Heart of Chernobyl. Coming April 28, 2022.
A [/videos/e3-2021-surviving-is-not-enough-in-back-4-blood/2300-16903/ trailer] for Back 4 Blood (Game) was shown, coming October 12, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-steely-dan-is-here-with-your-contraband/2300-16904/ announcement trailer] for Contraband (Game), an open world co-op game, was shown.
A [/videos/e3-2021-sea-of-thieves-has-pirates-now-of-the-caribbean/2300-16905/ trailer] for Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life, a crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean (Franchise), was shown. Coming June 22, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-all-of-yakuza-is-on-game-pass/2300-16906/ trailer] was shown for Yakuza: Like a Dragon's Xbox Game Pass (Concept) debut, out now.
A [/videos/e3-2021-sand-storms-aint-nothin-to-mess-with-in-battlefield-2042/2300-16907/ gameplay trailer] for Battlefield 2042 (Game) was shown, coming October 22, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-could-you-last-12-minutes-with-willem-dafoe/2300-16908/ trailer] for 12 Minutes was shown, coming August 19, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-you-gotta-roll-with-it-in-psychonauts-2/2300-16909/ trailer] for Psychonauts 2 (Game) was shown, coming August 25, 2021.
Pete Hines (Person) (SVP of Marketing and Communications at Bethesda Softworks (Company)) appeared to discuss a number of Bethesda titles coming to Xbox Game Pass and highlight a number of previous Bethesda releases.
A [/videos/e3-2021-the-brotherhood-of-steel-must-stand-united-in-fallout-76-steel-reign/2300-16910/ trailer] was shown for Fallout 76: Steel Reign, a free content expansion focused around the Brotherhood of Steel. Coming July 7, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-welcome-back-to-the-pitt-in-fallout-76/2300-16911/ teaser] for Fallout 76 Expeditions: The Pitt was shown, coming 2022.
A [/videos/e3-2021-show-off-your-talent-at-clobbering-your-furry-friends-in-party-animals/2300-16913/ trailer] for Party Animals (Game) was shown, coming 2022.
A [/videos/e3-2021-giant-bombs-2020-goty-comes-to-game-pass/2300-16914/ trailer] for Hades' console ports was shown, coming August 13, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-what-happens-after-disaster-strikes-somerville/2300-16915/ trailer] for Somerville (Game) was shown, coming 2022.
Bonnie Ross (Person) (Studio Head) and Joseph Staten (Person) (Creative Director) from 343 Industries appeared to reintroduce Halo Infinite (Game), beginning with an announcement that Infinite's multiplayer will be free-to-play.
A series of environments from Halo Infinite, followed by a CG trailer for the game's campaign, were shown.
A [/videos/e3-2021-first-look-at-halo-infinite-multiplayer/2300-16916/ trailer] for Halo Infinite's multiplayer was shown, running at 120fps on Xbox Series X. Campaign and multiplayer coming Holiday 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-return-to-hell-again-for-the-first-time-on-xbox/2300-16917/ trailer] for Diablo II: Resurrected was shown, coming September 23, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-rat-river-tech-has-advanced-in-a-plague-tale-requiem/2300-16918/ announcement trailer] for A Plague Tale: Requiem was shown, coming 2022.
A [/videos/e3-2021-blow-stuff-up-in-far-cry-6/2300-16919/ trailer] for Far Cry 6 (Game) was shown. Coming October 7, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-time-to-suck-it-up-and-get-ready-for-slime-rancher-2/2300-16920/ announcement trailer] for Slime Rancher 2 (Game) was shown, highlighting new types of slime. Coming 2022.
A [/videos/e3-2021-shredders-is-here-to-get-you-amped-for-snowboarding-again/2300-16921/ trailer] for Shredders (Game) was shown, coming December 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-atomic-heart-might-have-the-most-bewildering-trailer-of-e3/2300-16922/ trailer] for Atomic Heart (Game) was shown, featuring segments of the game's combat overlaid by a Russian techno song.
A [/videos/e3-2021-replaced-mightve-stole-the-show/2300-16923/ trailer] for Replaced (Game) was shown, coming 2022.
A [/videos/e3-2021-its-all-shroom-and-doom-for-the-kids-of-grounded/2300-16924/ trailer] for Grounded (Game) was shown, highlighting previous updates and announcing a new mushroom-centric update, coming June 30, as well as achievement support.
A trailer for Among Us (Game) was shown, highlighting the game's upcoming 15-player update.
A [/videos/e3-2021-get-ready-for-a-new-war-in-eiyuden-chronicle-hundred-heroes/2300-16925/ trailer] for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was shown, alongside the announcement of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, coming 2023 and 2022 respectively.
A [/videos/e3-2021-become-a-lethal-solution-in-the-ascent/2300-16926/ trailer] for The Ascent (Game) was shown, coming July 29, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-history-is-all-around-us-in-age-of-empires-iv/2300-16929/ trailer] for Age of Empires IV (Game) was shown, coming October 28, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-the-outer-worlds-2-is-the-most-honest-trailer-of-e3/2300-16930/ announcement trailer] for The Outer Worlds 2 (Game) was shown.
A trailer for Microsoft Flight Simulator was shown, coming to Xbox Series X and S on July 27, 2021, alongside receiving a free crossover expansion with the Top Gun (Franchise) franchise, coming Fall 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-you-can-get-it-in-forza-horizon-5/2300-16932/ trailer] for Forza Horizon 5 (Game) was shown, set in Mexico. Coming November 9, 2021.
Mike Brown (Creative Director at Playground Games (Company)) appeared to discuss Forza Horizon 5's setting and cars, narrating a gameplay demo played the game's developers. The demo concluded with "EventLab", a new customizable game mode.
Phil Spencer (Head of Xbox) took the stage to recap the presentation, highlighting the titles coming to Xbox Game Pass.
The presentation concluded with an [/videos/e3-2021-redfall-closes-out-xboxs-e3-with-vampire-hunting/2300-16934/ announcement trailer] for Redfall (Game), an Arkane-developed co-op shooter.

Nintendo

Tuesday, June 15 - 9:00 AM PDT

The presentation opened with a statement that all announced release dates are subject to change, due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shinya Takahashi (Person) (General Manager at Nintendo EPD (Company)) and Yoshiaki Koizumi (Person) (Executive Officer at Nintendo (Company)) hosted the presentation, beginning the show by highlighting the popularity of the Nintendo Switch (Platform).
A [/videos/e3-2021-kazuya-is-here-to-throw-everyone-from-super-smash-bros-ultimate-into-a-volcano/2300-17046/ trailer] for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was shown, announcing Tekken (Franchise)'s Kazuya Mishima (Character) as a DLC fighter for the game.
Masahiro Sakurai (Person) gave an overview of Kazuya's moveset in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, announcing a more in-depth presentation for the 28th.
A [/videos/e3-2021-life-is-strange-empathizes-with-nintendo-switch/2300-17039/ trailer] for Life is Strange Remastered Collection (Game) and Life is Strange: True Colors' Nintendo Switch ports was shown. Coming later this year and September 10th respectively.
A trailer reel was shown, highlighting Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Worms Rumble (Game), Astria Ascending (Game), and Two Point Campus (Game).
An [/videos/e3-2021-relive-the-best-aiai-has-to-offer-with-super-monkey-ball-banana-mania/2300-17040/ announcement trailer] for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania was shown, being remasters of Super Monkey Ball 1, 2, and Deluxe. Coming October 5, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-in-this-house-we-do-not-acknowledge-mario-party-superstars/2300-17041/ announcement trailer] for Mario Party Superstars (Game) was shown. Superstars compiles remasters of boards and minigames from the series' N64 entries, featuring online play. Coming October 29, 2021.
Takahashi returned to state that Metroid Prime 4 is still in-development, but would not be featured at the day's presentation.
An [/videos/e3-2021-metroid-dread-is-not-the-metroid-we-expected/2300-17036/ announcement trailer] for Metroid Dread (Game), the series' fifth 2D entry, was shown, highlighting a new robotic enemy, E.M.M.I., and a new cloaking ability for Samus. Coming October 8, 2021.
A trailer reel was shown, showcasing Just Dance 2022 (Game), coming November 4, 2021, a Nintendo Switch port for Cruis'n Blast, coming Fall 2021, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens Set, a bundle of the base game and the game's boss fight DLC, coming September 24, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-marvel-at-warios-checkered-pants-in-mario-golf-super-rush/2300-17019/ trailer] for Mario Golf: Super Rush was shown, highlighting the game's different modes. Coming June 25, 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-an-extended-look-at-monster-hunter-stories-2-wings-of-ruin/2300-17004/ trailer] for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin was shown, coming July 9, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-stop-picking-your-nose-and-get-it-together-for-warioware/2300-17038/ announcement trailer] for WarioWare: Get It Together was shown, featuring multiplayer and different playable characters. Coming September 10, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-jack-frost-is-here-to-cast-bufu-on-shin-megami-tensei-v/2300-17042/ overview trailer] for Shin Megami Tensei V (Game) was shown, focused on the game's combat, negotiation, and fusion systems. Coming November 12, 2021.
An [/videos/e3-2021-a-decadence-of-danganronpa-is-coming-to-switch/2300-17043/ announcement trailer] for Danganronpa: Decadence was shown, compiling the series's three main entries and a new standalone board game. Coming 2021.
A [/videos/e3-2021-fatal-frame-maiden-of-black-water-has-been-freed-from-wii-u-jail/2300-17048/ trailer] announcing Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water's Nintendo Switch port was shown. Coming 2021.
A trailer reel was shown, highlighting Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, and Strange Brigade (Game).
A [/videos/e3-2021-the-weirdest-mash-up-in-recent-memory-returns-in-mario-rabbids-sparks-of-hope/2300-16854/ trailer] for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope was shown. Coming 2022.
An [/videos/e3-2021-advance-wars-is-back-with-12-re-boot-camp/2300-17037/ announcement trailer] for Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp was shown. Coming December 3, 2021, Re-Boot camp is a remaster of the first two Advance Wars games featuring plastic toy visuals.
Eiji Aonuma (Person) (Producer on The Legend of Zelda series) closed the presentation with a slew of announcements related to The Legend of Zelda (Franchise), including the first DLC for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and a reminder about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.
Aonuma announced a Zelda-themed Game and Watch system with three Zelda titles and a re-skinned version of Game and Watch title Vermin.
A [/videos/e3-2021-the-sequel-to-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-is-droppin-in-2022/2300-17034/ new trailer] for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sequel was shown, featuring new powers for Link and an increased focus on aerial navigation. Coming 2022.

Exhibitors

24 Entertainment (Company)
Arcade 1UP
Bandai Namco Entertainment (Company)
Binge dot com
Burgos Games
Capcom (Company)
Devious Eye Entertainment
Dreamteck (Company)
Freedom Games Inc.
Gearbox Software LLC (Company)
Ghost Street Games
GuliKit
Hooded Horse
Intellivision Amico
KOCH Media
Mythical
NetEase (Company)
Nintendo (Company)
Norton Gaming
Otter Box Gaming
Razer (Company)
Sega (Company)
The Sixth Hammer
SK Telecom
Square Enix (Company)
Take-Two Interactive
Turtle Beach
Ubisoft Entertainment (Company)
Verizon
WB Games (Company)
Xbox Game Studios (Company)
XSEED Games (Company) / Marvelous (Company)
Yooreka Studio (Company)

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