E3 2017 to hold E3 Coliseum, series of panels and presentations

The first E3 to be officially open to the public will also feature a series of panels and talks from game makers and celebrities from the entertainment industry, the Entertainment Software Association announced today.

Known as the E3 Coliseum, the event will run for the first two days of E3, June 13-14. It will take place onstage at The Novo, a theater at L.A. Live, and will be hosted by The Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley. (For the past two years, Keighley has hosted YouTube Live at E3, a lengthy livestream on the Monday of E3 week. It’s unclear if that show is returning this year, and there’s no word on whether Keighley is participating if it is happening again.)

The E3 Coliseum will feature presentations from game developers meant to “take E3 attendees behind the scenes of E3’s biggest new announcements,” said the ESA, the organization that runs E3, in a news release. Numerous game publishers will host panels at the E3 Coliseum, including Activision, Bethesda Softworks, Gearbox Publishing, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Xbox.

In addition to those sessions from members of the game industry, the E3 Coliseum will hold panels with “celebrated talent from the film, TV, music and other entertainment industries,” according to the ESA. Those individuals will “speak about the cultural significance of gaming and how this incredible medium has influenced their work,” said Keighley in a Medium post about the E3 Coliseum.

Anybody who has purchased a ticket to E3 will get access to the E3 Coliseum, with priority given to people holding consumer and business passes. Three-day passes to E3 2017 cost $249 each, although the ESA sold 1,000 of them at early-bird pricing of $149. Some E3 Coliseum sessions will also be livestreamed on Twitch and other platforms, and viewers can head to the official E3 Facebook page to submit questions for panels that are taking them.