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WB Interactive Entertainment might hold an E3 press conference in the future

Given the publisher's full slate of games in 2015 and a busy 2016, WBIE's president said the company might hold a briefing at a future conference.

David Craddock

June 22, 2016 3:29 PM

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Amid the news of companies like Nintendo and EA pulling out of E3 in recent years, it's refreshing to read about a company looking for a way in. Venture Beat's Dean Takahashi sat down with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad at last week's event to learn more about how the publisher may approach the show in the future.

"E3 is constantly changing and evolving, as it should. We’re figuring out how to have the gamer participate and be involved while still keeping it a platform for announcements and critical press and business partners. We’re trying to find that balance. As a board member of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association], I think a lot about how to keep E3 as powerful and relevant as possible. I like the addition of gamers invited to play the games and talk about new games coming."

At E3 2016, Ubisoft and Bethesda scheduled press conferences around briefings from Sony and Microsoft. And EA, while technically not part of the show, conducted its EA Play event just down the road from the Convention Center, and still put on a conference to highlights its wares.

When Takahashi observed that WB was the biggest publisher at E3 2016 without a press conference of its own, Haddad admitted that he and his constituents have given the idea some thought.

"For us it’s mostly slate-driven. You look at the people that have meaningful press conferences, the big publishers — there’s a slate that holds that together. I believe that could be in our future. It didn’t make sense for us this year."

If titles on deck is the criteria by which WBI will decide whether or not to hold an E3 presser, its chances seem good. The publisher released Dying Light, Mortal Kombat X, Batman: Arkham Knight, Lego Jurassic World, Lego Dimensions, and Mad Max in 2015. This year, it will publish Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and most pundits agree that Injustice 2 will launch in early 2017 like NetherRealm's past titles.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.