Sony, Xbox and Nintendo won’t be at E3 2023: report

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the long-running and iconic annual gaming showcase event, returns this year after four years since the last in-person show. E3 2023 will take place June 13-16 in Los Angeles. With new organizers at the helm, the event will see some major changes from the long-established format, but gamers can still expect the usual from E3 – new announcements, trailers, presentations of gameplay and more for upcoming and as yet unannounced games. However, according to a report, E3 2023 will not feature the industry’s big three. Sony, Xbox and Nintendo are reportedly set to skip the summer event, a development that could put a damper on the excitement surrounding the return of the hallowed gaming convention.

A report from IGN says gaming giants Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo won’t be part of E3 2023, which is scheduled to take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in June this year. Xbox has already confirmed that the company will hold a standalone showcase event this summer in Los Angeles. Xbox’s annual summer showcase will feature a deep dive into Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield, among other first-party games to come.

The Xbox showcase would take place around the same time as E3 for convenience. Nintendo, on the other hand, has been announcing its games at its own Nintendo Direct events for years, but has maintained a token presence at E3 in the form of a booth. According to the IGN report, even that won’t happen this year. The same goes for Sony; PlayStation had pulled out of E3 2019 due to disagreements, and it’s still unclear whether the company will return to showcase its games at E3 2023. Neither Nintendo nor Sony have officially confirmed their plans for the event, or any similar showcase.

A no-show from the three biggest players in the game is likely to negatively affect the buzz around the event. E3 itself is in a transitional phase, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the event for the past three years. The last in-person E3 event was in 2019, as the 2020 convention was canceled due to the pandemic. E3 2021 was an entirely online event, with virtual conferences announcing new games. Last year, E3 2022 was canceled completely again, with hopes of building a proper and safe return to in-person events in 2023.