It’s a bad day for the gaming world since the E3 cancelled again today. Game lovers who are eagerly awaiting the return of the game fair will unfortunately not be able to attend this year’s E3.
Almost a year after announcing its return, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today to its members that this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two sources have confirmed that the organization announced the cancellation via an email sent out to its members today. The email said that while E3 “remains a beloved event and brand,” the 2023 version “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“.
The ESA concludes the email by reiterating its commitment to advocacy work. It does not mention undertaking the show again in future years.
Following IGN’s report, the ESA issued the following public statement from Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming, ReedPop:
“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”.
-ESA on E3 cancelled news
E3 cancelled two years in a row
E3 2022 was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ESA confirmed that there will be no digital event to replace it this year. It is possible that the reasons for the cancellation of E3 2023, if any, may be announced in the future. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has heavily affected the trade show and conference industry. Holding live events became impossible as the virus spread and increased the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
The press release adds that ReedPop and the ESA will continue to work together on “future E3 events”.
Why was E3 2023 cancelled?
The event was supposed to be held from June 13th through June 16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center and would have been the first in-person E3 event since 2019. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and while a digital version was held in 2021, the event was cancelled again in 2022 in an effort to focus on a “revitalized showcase” that would set a new standard for hybrid industry events.
We think that the E3 cancelled due to the fact that game companies, like many companies that downsized at the end of the pandemic, could not progress as planned. As stated in the official statement, big game companies have not even been able to prepare demos of their games yet.
The cancellation of E3 2023 follows announcements from multiple big names in the industry, including Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Ubisoft, that they would not be attending E3 in any capacity, with most opting to host their own digital showcases.
