The E3 2023 convention, originally due to take place from June 13th-16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, has been cancelled.
Weeks ago, the three main console owners Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox all expressed their intention not to attend 2023’s E3 convention – opting instead for their own individual showcases and presentations.
That left it up to the smaller publishers, and in recent days Ubisoft, Sega and Tencent all declared they wouldn’t attend. Now, IGN reports that E3’s owner, the ESA, has sent out an email confirming this year’s convention wouldn’t be taking place.
They add in the e-mail that E3 remains “a beloved event and brand”, but this year’s show “simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry.”
Organisers ReedPop and the ESA will reportedly continue to work together on “future E3 events”. This was to mark the first in-person E3 event since 2019.
E3 was once the biggest event on the gaming calendar and was always a major time for game reveals and announcements, with all the majors holding major press events and showcases.
Then things began to slide. Sony stopped attending to do its own showcases, Nintendo followed, the pandemic hobbled in-person gaming events and game production pipelines, rival events like The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest have taken some of the attention, and game release schedules are much more fluid these days.
More often, the majors are now doing their own video showcases streamed online – spreading the content over several smaller presentations per year as opposed to one large, annual several-hour presentation. Even with E3 not happening, several such online showcases are still expected to happen in June.
