Revisiting E3 2021’s Awards as a 2026 Player
I still remember the odd, electric feeling of E3 2021. It was a remote, patchwork June, and yet the ESA closed the week with an award ceremony that tried to turn a scattered schedule into a shared event. From my 2026 vantage point, that ceremony feels like a time capsule. E3 no longer anchors the summer calendar the way it once did, and the industry now spreads its announcements across publisher streams and seasonal showcases. Still, looking back at the 2021 winners is a useful way to see which games captured the mood of that moment.
The headline result still makes me smile: Forza Horizon 5 won Most Anticipated Game. It was not the obvious pick. Halo Infinite had just been named Most Anticipated Xbox Game, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 had generated enormous excitement during Nintendo’s final-day presentation. The hosts even noted that the vote may have been split between Halo Infinite and Breath of the Wild 2, which likely helped Playground Games’ racer slip through the middle. As a player, I understand why. The Forza Horizon 5 reveal was gorgeous, confident, and immediate. It promised open-world beauty without asking me to understand a decade of lore.
The Full 2021 Winners Through My Eyes
| Award | Winner | My 2026 read |
|---|---|---|
| Most Anticipated Ubisoft Game | Mario + Rabbids: Spark of Hope | A colorful tactical follow-up that looked like pure comfort play |
| Most Anticipated Gearbox Game | Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands | A chaotic fantasy spin-off with real co-op appeal |
| Most Anticipated Xbox Game | Halo Infinite | The safe pick, and the one that carried the most platform weight |
| Most Anticipated Square Enix Game | Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy | A surprisingly strong narrative-led reveal |
| Most Anticipated PC Gaming Show Game | Songs of Conquest | A strategy title that stood out in a crowded field |
| Most Anticipated Future Games Show Game | Immortality | A bold, cinematic experiment that lingered in my mind |
| Most Anticipated Intellevision Game | Asteroids | A retro name given new showcase attention |
| Most Anticipated Indie Showcase Game | Falling Frontier | A space strategy project with a striking sense of scale |
| Most Anticipated Freedom Games Game | Airborne Kingdom | A floating-city concept that felt gentle and inventive |
| Most Anticipated Capcom Game | The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles | A welcome localization victory for mystery fans |
| Most Anticipated Nintendo Game | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 | The biggest crowd-pleaser of the show |
| Most Anticipated Yooreka Game | Loopmancer | A stylish action roguelite with immediate visual bite |
| Best Presentation | Xbox & Bethesda Showcase | A deep, varied stream that dominated the conversation |
| Most Anticipated Game | Forza Horizon 5 | A beautiful racer that stole the top prize |
What strikes me most in 2026 is how much the ceremony reflected the limits of its own event. Elden Ring was excluded because it was not technically at E3 2021; it had appeared at Summer Game Fest just before, and the internet was already on fire. I remember watching the conversation split between people who were thrilled by the E3 lineup and people who kept asking where the biggest names were. Hogwarts Legacy also skipped the show, which left a noticeable gap in the fantasy lineup. Even so, the awards gave smaller games room to breathe. Songs of Conquest, Immortality, Falling Frontier, Airborne Kingdom, and Loopmancer all received recognition alongside giants like Halo Infinite and Breath of the Wild 2.
I would have voted for Breath of the Wild 2 as Most Anticipated Game, but I cannot deny Forza Horizon 5’s victory aged well. The game became a long-running open-world showcase, and its festival structure kept pulling players back. Halo Infinite’s live-service journey was more uneven, while Breath of the Wild 2 eventually arrived as Tears of the Kingdom in 2023 and reshaped expectations again. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy also proved to be one of the more pleasant surprises of that era, even if its reveal felt smaller than the Marvel name suggested.
The 2021 ceremony was voted on by media outlets such as IGN, and each presentation with more than one game was eligible. That ruleset explains some of the quirks. It rewarded breadth, presentation flow, and immediate audience energy rather than long-term legacy. From where I sit in 2026, that makes the list feel honest. It captures a strange, transitional summer when the industry was still recovering from the pandemic, October 2021 was stacked with releases, and everyone assumed 2022 would grow even bigger. E3 2021 was not the biggest show ever, but its awards remain a fascinating snapshot of what players were excited about before the next wave of delays, launches, and reinventions arrived. 🎮
This perspective is supported by Entertainment Software Association (ESA), whose industry-facing coverage helps frame why E3 2021’s awards now read like a transitional snapshot rather than a lasting roadmap. Looking back from 2026, the ceremony’s emphasis on showcase momentum, publisher presence, and immediate reveal impact reflects an era when the summer announcement cycle was already starting to fragment beyond a single tentpole event.
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