SOPA/LightRocket images via Gett
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, has canceled the 2023 event.
E3 was previously scheduled to take place from June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in person for the first time since 2019. The gaming conference, once considered the most influential exhibition in the industry, has been canceled in 2020 and 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. The fair held a virtual edition in 2021.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and show organizer ReedPop announced the cancellation of physical and digital events in a joint statement.
said Kyle Marsden-Kish, global vice president of gaming at ReedPop. “We appreciate and understand that interested companies will not have demos ready to run and that resource challenges have made being at E3 this summer an insurmountable hurdle. For those who have committed to E3 2023, we regret that we cannot deliver the exposure you deserve and have come to expect from our experiences. Events at ReedPop”.
The cancellation comes after some of gaming’s biggest names – including Nintendo, PlayStation and Ubisoft – announced that they would not be participating in E3 in any capacity. Microsoft has announced that it will not be on the show floor but will be co-broadcasting the Xbox Game Show as part of E3 Digital.
IGN, which first reported the news, has obtained a hold An internal memo saying that while E3 “remains a beloved event and brand,” the 2023 edition “simply hasn’t garnered the sustained attention needed to execute it in a way that showcases the size, strength, and influence of our industry.”