E3 2022, one of gaming‘s biggest annual events, has been cancelled by organisers Entertainment Software Association (ESA), continuing the event’s erratic run of form since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

While E3 2020 had been cancelled due to health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, E3 2021 was held virtually and received a mixed reaction. Now, IGN has confirmed that E3 2022 will not go ahead, in either in-person or digital formats.

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ESA had, in January this year, announced that E3 2022 would not be held physically, but had kept mum on hosting the event digitally, as was the case in 2021, thereby keeping that possibility open.

“Due to the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees, E3 will not be held in person in 2022. We remain incredibly excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon,” ESA had said in a statement released in January.

At the time, IGN, citing sources, had reported that discussions were ongoing to hold the event virtually. However, on March 31, IGN confirmed, citing an internal email, that the event had been cancelled in its entirety.

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The publication, citing sources, went on to report that the ESA is planning to regroup and make a major comeback through a full-scale in-person event in 2023. However, at the moment, there has been no official confirmation of such an event in 2023.

E3 (the abbreviation of ‘ Electronic Entertainment Expo’) is a trade show for the video game industry that began in 1995. Over the years, the show went on to attract some of the most accomplished names in the industry, leading to it being regarded as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, gaming event of the year.