E3 video game expo won't be held in person amid COVID-19 risks

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a globally renowned event for video games, technology, and computers, will not be held in person this year amid fears around COVID-19, its operator said on Thursday.

The development adds to a list of many showpiece events being wrapped up early or getting canceled or postponed for in-person gatherings amid a surge in U.S. cases, with the latest ones being technology and gadget show CES, the Grammy Awards, and the Sundance Film Festival. .

"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," the E3 operator Entertainment Software Association (ESA) said in a statement.

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The rolling seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. hit 540,000 earlier this week along with a surge in hospitalizations, days after the country reported a record one million infections in 24 hours.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)