E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled, As Major Publishers Skips The Event Altogether

Low Boon Shen
By Low Boon Shen 3 Min Read
E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled, As Major Publishers Skips The Event Altogether

E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled, As Major Publishers Skips The Event Altogether

Most major publishers – if not all – has decided to host events on their own, leaving the longtime event nothing to show for.

E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled, As Major Publishers Skips The Event Altogether

IGN has confirmed that E3 2023 – short for Electronic Entertainment Expo – has been cancelled following the announcement made by organizer, Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The event was originally to be held on 13/6 to 16/6 at Los Angeles, resuming in-person activities since the last event held back in 2019 (2021 rendition was entirely online).

Per IGN, two sources has confirmed this fact from an email sent by ESA through its members. In the email, ESA stated E3 “remains a beloved event and brand”, followed by the fact that this year’s 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.”

ESA issued a public statement through Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming, ReedPop (managing company of E3 2023):

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.

It’s not surprising – given that major publishers, including Microsoft’s Xbox (who also owns Bethesda), Sony, Nintendo, and Ubisoft has opted out of the event entirely to host events of their own (mostly with digital showcases). While ESA remains committed to ‘advocacy work’ moving forward, the industry at large seemed to moved on and towards a more digitalized approach – often with better publicity at less cost.

Source: IGN

Pokdepinion: Hard to see if E3 can recover from this – companies seems to figured out they can live without in-person events like these, or at least downsize it given the current economic situation. 

Share This Article
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *