Gaming trade show E3 cancelled for 2023
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game showcase has been cancelled for 2023, according to the Entertainment Software Association and show organizer ReedPop.
Why it matters: An in-person E3 has not been held in since 2019. This year's event, scheduled to take place in early June in Los Angeles, was to mark a return of the conference, once central to the gaming world.
What they're saying: "This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what’s right for the industry and what’s right for E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, ReedPop's global vice president of gaming, said in a statement.
- “We appreciate and understand that interested companies wouldn’t have playable demos ready and that resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they couldn’t overcome," Marsden-Kish said. "For those who did commit to E3 2023, we’re sorry we can’t put on the showcase you deserve and that you’ve come to expect from ReedPop’s event experiences.”
- A tweet from the E3 account said the cancellation ecompasses “both the digital and physical events.”
Between the lines: Almost exactly a year ago, E3 2022 was cancelled and organizers promised to return this year. However, after all three big console makers declined to attend, an increasing number of high-profile gaming companies followed suit.
- The latest big name to bow out came Wednesday, when Assassin's Creed-creator Ubisoft said that it would not be at the show.
The intrigue: Over time, the ability for companies to show off their own products directly to consumers, along with competition from other events, has blunted E3's standing as the premier video game showcase in the U.S.
- Instead of waiting for one big event in the middle of the year, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have all leaned into producing their own occasional streaming showcases.
- Meanwhile, Game Awards host Geoff Keighley has positioned his Summer Games Fest, which is scheduled to take place this year on June 8, as an opportunity for game reveals.
