Activision joins EA in skipping a major E3 presence this year

In an interesting move, Activision has joined Electronic Arts in the ranks of major publishers skipping a presence at E3 this year. While Activision will showcase Infinity Ward's 2016 Call of Duty instalment at Sony's PlayStation booth, the company won't have its own area on the floor.

"In June, we’re going to be at E3 showcasing gameplay from Infinity Ward’s ambitious new game," reads a recent blogpost on the Activision website. "We’re looking forward to sharing exciting new details about the next great Call of Duty game in partnership with our friends at PlayStation. We’re proud to be participating in this premier video game event, but won’t have an Activision booth on the show floor."

It follows EA's announcement last month that they'll be opting out of a presence on the showroom floor, though that publisher will still host events coinciding with the convention. EA Play is a three-day public event at nearby Club Nokia, taking place between June 12 and 14. Meanwhile, EA's pre-E3 keynote will take place on June 12.

E3 will still be a massive show: Activision is usually light on huge, unexpected announcements (and Destiny 2 isn't expected until next year, now), while EA's release schedule is packed with games we already know a bit about. Anyway, Bethesda has confirmed its presence, and their pre-show press conference was arguably the biggest of 2015.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.