E3 2023 has had a difficult time getting its footing this year with major gaming companies such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all claiming that they would not make a physical appearance at the event according to Gamespot. While these statements have all been relatively vague, or only rumored up until recently, about a month ago, Nintendo officially announced that they would not have any physical involvement with E3 this year. Even more recently, Microsoft has announced that they will also not have a floor presentation at E3, opting instead to have their own Xbox Games Showcase on June 11th as a co-stream to E3 Digital.
According to VGC, the last time Microsoft physically attended an E3 was back in 2019. Since then, E3 has been either online or has been canceled outright due to COVID, which has led to game companies looking into alternative ways to deliver their news. Nintendo has its Nintendo Directs, and Microsoft is using this opportunity to have its Xbox Games Showcase.
This announcement was held in an interview with IGN, where the Microsoft representative stated:
“We can’t wait to host our Xbox Games Showcase on June 11 and will share more details later. We also look forward to co-streaming our event as part of E3 Digital and will not be on the E3 showfloor.”
While the Microsoft team still shows support for E3, they have decided to move in their own direction with the reveal of information, which has left E3 with fewer representatives joining their event. According to Eurogamer, Sony is the last of the big three gaming companies to officially announce their lack of participation in the upcoming E3, though many think that it is unlikely that there will be any surprises from that end.
With E3 having two separate parts, E3 Digital, which will run from June 11th through June 17th, and the official in-person event running from June 13th through June 16th, there is still plenty of time for news to come out about various announcements and updates in favor of the upcoming event. Only time will tell to see who else will be added or step away from this year’s E3.