The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has officially announced that E3 2023 has been canceled. IGN first broke the news after sources confirmed recent a company email sent out to employees from the ESA that stated that E3 2023 “…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 had been in collaboration with ReedPop, producers of widly known fan events like PAX, Star Wars Celebration, and other fan-focused events, to run E3 2023. E3 2023 was expected to be the event’s grand physical return following its last in-person show in 2019 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming at ReedPop issued this statement in a press release following IGN’s article.
“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,” said Marsden-Kish. “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”
E3 2023 was first announced by the ESA in 2022. Unfortunately, their plans began to devolve in early 2023 when gaming giants Nintendo, and Microsoft confirmed to be pulling out of the event and soon enough Ubisoft, Sega and Tencent followed shortly after. Rumors quickly speculated that even more developers would take their leave.
Geoff Keighley, organizer of the digital gaming event Summer Game Fest, gave his thoughts on the cancellation of E3 2023 on Twitter before reiterating that his own gaming event would still running in June 2023.
“E3 meant so much to me and to so many of you too,” said Keighley. “Four years ago, I realized that E3 wasn’t evolving as it needed to compete in a global, digital world. So we started building what’s next. See at @summergamefest June 8.”
The future of E3 remains unknown. That said, ReedPop doesn’t seem to be hanging up the towel yet. In its recent press release, ReedPop added that it’s partnership with the ESA would continue with “future E3 events.”