San Francisco, Jan 7 (IANS): The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), one of the largest yearly events for video games, will once again be an online-only event this summer due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

"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 ESA commented in a statement to VentureBeat.

"We are nonetheless excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon."

The ESA said last year that it had planned for E3 2022 to return to an in-person event. However, Omicron has contributed to hundreds of thousands of new infections each day in the US, where the E3 is held.

E3 regularly takes place in early June, but the ESA has yet to confirm the dates for the next show.

To recall, E3 2021 was held online over the course of four days. Known developers including Nintendo, Ubisoft, Xbox, Square Enix, Capcom and Warner Bros., all participated in the event.

The US recorded more than 1 million Covid-19 cases on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as the Omicron variant is spreading unabated.