E3 2023 has been canceled

E3 2023 has been canceled – it’s not happening in any form, in-person or digital, this year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed the news on Twitter, following an original report by IGN based on emails sent to its members. He mentioned that while E3 was a beloved brand, the 2023 edition “just didn’t generate the sustained interest needed” to execute the event in a way that would show the size and strength of the games industry. In January, the big three – PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo – pulled out of the summer video game event, leaving virtually no major publishers.

Following IGN’s report, E3 2023 organizer ReedPop released a public statement. “It was a tough decision because of all the hard work we and our partners have put into making this event happen, but we had to do what’s right for the industry and what’s right for E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, global vice president of games, ReedPop said, adding that many publishers and developers interested in the event wouldn’t even have playable demos ready to show off. “For those of you who signed up for E3 2023, we’re sorry we couldn’t present the showcase you deserve and expect from ReedPop’s event experiences,” he continued.

The show was scheduled to be held June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, marking the first in-person E3 since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It took a virtual and digital approach in 2021, after which the event was again canceled in 2022.

Earlier this week, Ubisoft pulled out of E3 2023, having previously committed to it. The publisher has chosen to “go in a different direction” and will now be hosting its own Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in Los Angeles. Further details on this will be revealed in time, although CEO Yves Guillemot has promised “lots to show”. Following this announcement, even Tencent and Yakuza publisher Sega has been confirmed to be skipping E3.

Much like Ubisoft, Microsoft will be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase on June 11, with detailed functionality for Bethesda’s next sci-fi RPG, Starfield, slated for later. Meanwhile, Nintendo and PlayStation will continue to host their respective online events to showcase new games and updates. Alternatively, they could join Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest – at this point, there’s no telling.

Since 2020 – the era of the pandemic – Keighley’s month-long Summer Game Fest has dethroned E3 as the key industry destination for revealing the biggest games and news. Additionally, being a digital-only online event, publishers don’t have to spend large sums to secure a physical booth. The festival of the year kicks off June 8 and has already swept Xbox and Ubisoft under the feet of the E3 as some of its main highlights. Summer Game Fest 2023 will be broadcast live from the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles and, oddly enough, will release its new promotional trailer right after the ESA announcement.

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