Last year, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced a partnership with PAX organizer ReedPop, a Connecticut-based event production company behind notable events such as PAX, New York Comic Con, and Star Wars Celebration for E3. Unfortunately, this year’s event was ultimately canceled. There were reports that E3 2024 and E3 2025 have been canceled, leaving more assumptions that the once-touted gaming event has come and gone. Today, the ESA has revealed what’s next for the future of the show and has announced along with ReedPop that both parties have parted ways.
The partnership with ReedPop and ESA was a multi-year deal but with E3 2023 failing to get off the ground, the decision to end the relationship was a “mutual decision.”
“We appreciate ReedPop’s partnership over the past 14 months and support their ongoing efforts to bring industry and fans together through their various events,” said ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis. “While the reach of E3 remains unmatched in our industry, we are continuing to explore how we can evolve it to best serve the video game industry and are evaluating every aspect of the event, from format to location. We are committed to our role as a convenor for the industry and look forward to sharing news about E3 in the coming months.”
The ESA also informed the Los Angeles Convention Center that it will not be using its venue for 2024. E3 2024 has not been officially canceled yet but if it were to happen, it would not be at the traditional home of E3. Gamesindustry.biz also notes that the ESA is working on a complete reinvention of E3 for 2025.
“We have enjoyed our time working with the ESA and appreciate their commitment to the games industry as a whole,” says ReedPop’s games events boss Kyle Marsden-Kish. “While we will not be involved with the future of E3 we look forward to seeing its evolution and where the ESA takes it.”