Before the pandemic hit in 2020, E3 was the biggest gaming expo in the world. However, few major tech trade shows were as badly affected by COVID-19 as E3. And it seems the event cannot recover with news today that Entertainment Software Association has cancelled the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2023.
Set to go ahead in June 2023, the decision to cancel the event comes relatively late. However, Electronic Software Association admits that there just wasn't enough interest in E3 2023. In an email sent to its members, the organization says the event “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.”
However, the ESA insists E3 “remains a beloved event and brand”. Even so, it is hard to see where the event goes from here. It returned for the first time since the pandemic last year and this year's cancellation throws the future of E3 into question.
Certainly, the ESA does not say whether it plans to host the event in future years. At the moment, it seems like 2022 was the final E3 show.
It seems the end was inevitable. Major names such as Sony (PlayStation), Microsoft (Xbox), Ubisoft, and Nintendo all confirmed they would not attend. In some ways, the end of E3 was coming before the pandemic.
There was a time when gaming giants would use the event to announce their new games and consoles. However, more recently those brands have been preferring standalone individual events and showcases to reveal their products. Without those brands and announcements, E3 lost much of its appeal.
Full ESA Email
“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. 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. 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.”
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