E3 2021 roster swells as Sega, Bandai Namco and Square Enix pledge support

More companies including Sega, Square Enix and Bandai Namco have signed up for the all-digital E3 2021.

Organiser The Entertainment Software Association confirmed the new participating companies on Thursday, along with Gearbox, Xseed, Turtle Beach, Verizon, Devious Eye and Binge.com.

Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games and Koch Media were already confirmed as participants in the event, which will run from June 12 through 15, with media days running during the four days prior.

Major games companies yet to pledge support for the digital E3 show include Electronic Arts, Activision, PlayStation, Amazon Game Studios, Epic Games and Oculus.

E3 2021 will see participating developers showcase their latest news and games “directly to fans around the world,” organiser the ESA said last month.

“For more than two decades, E3 has been the premier venue to showcase the best that the video game industry has to offer, while uniting the world through games,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & CEO of the ESA.

“We are evolving this year’s E3 into a more inclusive event, but will still look to excite the fans with major reveals and insider opportunities that make this event the indispensable center stage for video games.”

The ESA said it intends to hold 2022’s E3 as an in-person event.

Ubisoft has already confirmed that its next Ubisoft Forward event will be “part of” this year’s E3, and will take place on June 12 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm UK.

The newly-launched E3 website confirms many other details from an exclusive VGC report, including that content will be made available through a new E3 mobile app and that the event will rebrand to “Electronic Entertainment Experience” (instead of Expo).

But there’s seemingly no mention of the on-demand game demos, which the ESA had pitched to game publishers as a tentpole feature of its digital event plans, according to plans seen by VGC.