Earlier this week, Ubisoft announced that they would not be attending E3 this year as originally planned. They opted for another Ubisoft Forward instead. Now, a new report has revealed more publishers have pulled out of E3 2023 and because of it, there is speculation that the event might not even happen at all.
IGN reports that SEGA and Tencent is skipping E3. SEGA said “after careful consideration, we have decided not to participate in E3 2023 as an exhibitor. We look forward to sharing more information on announced and unannounced projects in the future.” Tencent confirmed that developer Level Infinite would not be attending E3 2023. They participated in Play Days last year and “found it to be an ideal experience for showcasing our games to the media.”
Devolver Digital also confirmed to IGN that they would not be attending E3 this year. “While we always root for the success of any industry gathering that promotes great games, we have never officially attended E3 and do not plan to do so this year unfortunately. We will also confirm we will not be hosting satellite events this year in Los Angeles, but look forward to returning to our beloved parking lot to do so if the opportunity arises for a future LACC-based event. We are happy to report that we are well underway in the production of our annual Devolver Direct scheduled for June which we will share news about soon.”
IGN says that more publishers plan to skip E3 this year as well, but no formal announcement has been made yet.
IGN reporters have spoken to numerous individuals in publishing and PR who have knowledge of event strategies, all of whom expressed concern about the status of this Summer’s event. Many said that they haven’t heard anyone who said that they were attending for sure. Some felt there is a lack of communication from the ESA and organizer ReedPop as to what to expect from the show.
One reason for ReedPop’s lack of communication may be because of things happening at the company. According to IGN, ReedPop is preparing for further internal shakeup next month with the company’s President preparing to step down after 14 years.
A day after Ubisoft announced that they were backing out of E3, It has been revealed that its Ubisoft Forward is part of Summer Game Fest this year.
Notable Video Game reporter Jason Schreier noted a similar sentiment that was going on during GDC last week.
Ahead of Ubisoft’s departure from E3 this year, one knowledge source said “there’s no possible way this show can happen.”