E3 2021 is just around the corner and this year will be unique compared to previous years with the move to an online format. Let’s dive into what we know about the event so far.
E3, also known as the Electric Entertainment Expo, is a three-day convention hosted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). E3 showcases upcoming game releases and consoles through keynotes hosted by game companies, panels and demos on the show floor. It has been running since 1995 and this year’s E3 marks the 26th time the event has been held, with the ESA cancelling E3 last year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
E3 2021 is an entirely digital event that will be free to attend. It will feature the event’s first-ever hosts which are Kinda Funny co-founder, Greg Miller, professional eSports commentator, Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez and Emmy-nominated TV journalist, host and producer, Jacki Jing. The trio of hosts will help guide this year’s E3 while providing commentary, publisher and developer interviews and much more. Below are some of the confirmed keynotes happening at E3 2021.
- Ubisoft Forward – June 12th at 3 PM ET
- Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase – June 13th at 1 PM ET
- PC Gaming Show – June 13
- Razer – June 14 at 6 PM ET
- Nintendo Direct – June 15th at 12 PM ET
This year’s E3 will be accessible through an online portal and app developed by Game Cloud Network, HCL Technologies and Revyrie. Users will be able to access the app as the key hub for the duration of the event as well as interacting with virtual “booths,” hosted events, video conferencing, profile and avatar creation, online forums and more.
While E3 2021 is less than two weeks away, Resetera user Rösti noticed that the E3 domain has a list of words that registered users won’t be able to use through the event’s ‘virtual booth’ and in possibly other aspects of the online portal/app. The list of categorized banned words is below.
Religion
alah, allah, azazel, christ, god, jew, jew!, jewed, jewish, lucifer, koran, nimrod, omfg, omg, qu’ran, quran, surah
Geography, nationality
canada, canadian
Political
black president, democratic socialism, right side broadcast, trump train
???
toejam, women rapping
While the banning of profane words makes sense, there were some head-scratchers included like ‘Canada’, ‘toejam’ and ‘women rapping’. I don’t know what the ESA has against Canadian women rappers and toejam but this has to be a mistake.
“The team working on the E3 portal and app used a sampling of words that came from a third party software company only for the purpose of functionality testing on the portal,” The ESA said in a statement. “This is not the final list, only a test list. The primary goal of curating this final list is to ensure the moderation functionality is being properly implemented to create a safe environment for all users.”
E3 2021 is set to take place online from June 12th-15th, it will be broadcasted live on streaming platforms which include Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
