E3 Distribution Partners Announced

It is all a bit of an E3 lock-out when it comes to news of late, isn’t it? Well, it is that or something about Twitch adding a category for Hot Tub and Beach streaming. I wonder when they’ll add a category for bathroom streaming? Joking aside, we know this year won’t include weirdos I’ll never understand streaming in bathrooms with the event of three Es taking place online this year.

With the still very present pandemic, the world of large-scale events such as conferences and conventions are on-hold for the most part. Of course, E3 in recent years has shifted from a business/industry-exclusive conference to one with fans roaming the show floor. Fans and industry professionals alike all come from the world over to descend on downtown L,A and the L,A convention center. This year that won’t be the case, as the event will be one that is entirely digital and free. The ESA has announced their broadcast/media-distribution partners.

Though we didn’t cover it two weeks ago as it was announced, the ESA revealed the official app that will bring you closer to the event all while sitting on your couch. The online portal to the event brings virtual booths, events, video conferences, and more including forums to you. ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis said, “From the moment we decided to host E3 virtually, we’ve been focused on providing an interactive experience for fans around the globe that goes beyond the typical livestream.” One of the few bullet points is “Gamified show elements” with leaderboards, because that’s what is essential to E3.

Anyway, beyond the online portal and virtual booths, if you want to continue your normal home experience of E3 from these last few years you can. Announced on Friday, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok (whatever that is), Steam, Reddit, South Korean streaming service AfreecaTV, Wechat, Entertainment Weekly, and more have partnered to bring E3 to you as usual. For the full list of partners, here it is for those looking. Pierre-Louis went on to say, “Working with these leading companies ensures that this year’s all-digital E3 experience will reach audiences around the world.”

E3 will kick on for general admission on Saturday, June the 12th this year, running for four days until the 15th of June. However, as we covered last week, Thursday the 10th will feature everyone’s favorite Ken doll, Geoff Keighley, who will host Kickoff Live. It is the kick-off to this year’s Summer Game Fest, running in parallel with E3 for the first weekend and continuing throughout this entire Summer. They also announced their partners for this year’s event, including EA which recently split from E3.