In 2021, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), due to the COVID-19 pandemic, held an E3 gaming exhibition in an online format. As the IGN portal found out, at least $6 million was spent on organizing the event.
ESA’s financial statements state that the association paid $1.6 million to the online platform Game Cloud Network, on which E3 was held. She transferred another $3.9 million to Paragon Creative Agency and $584.2 thousand to Smithbucklin, who helped with the organization of the exhibition.
IGN journalists suggest that the costs could have been even greater: the report lists only the largest independent contractors and does not reflect spending until April 2021.
At the same time, E3 2021 brought ESA only $3.4 million.