E3 2023 is no longer happening. One of gaming's biggest annual events was supposed to make an in-person return this year in Los Angeles for the first time since 2019. Instead, recent developments have put into question whether or not E3 will live on.
Just hours after reports of the cancelation, ESA confirmed what was on everyone's minds already. According to the official announcement, "both the digital and physical events for E3 2023 are canceled".
Shortly after, ReedPop’s Global VP of Gaming, Kyle Marsden-Kish, released a statement public statement:
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. 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.
Prior to this report, pretty much the entire gaming industry wondered when the official cancelation announcement would come.
Earlier in the year, companies such as Nintendo and Microsoft joined Sony in skipping the annual event. Afterward, Ubisoft dropped out followed by SEGA and Tencent, which only fueled speculation.
Now that it's confirmed, the question on everyone's minds is, "is E3 ever going to come back?"
E3 was the marquee event of the gaming industry for a long time. Unfortunately, E3 had struggled to remain relevant in the past few years. Sony's departure in 2019 created an opportunity for other companies to cast the spotlight on themselves. Instead, the solo PlayStation Showcase further highlighted the problems with E3.
To make matters worse, the coronavirus pandemic hit and that was pretty much all she wrote.
It's sad to think that the "return to form" for E3 2023 that Reedpop talked about last year meant the exact opposite of what they wanted.
The good news is the gaming industry won't suffer mightily with the loss of E3 2023.
First and foremost, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest is more than capable of stepping up to the plate and it will be held on June 8. In addition, the annual Xbox showcase, including a Starfield-centric event, is penciled in for June 11. Finally, an in-person Ubisoft Forward Live is scheduled for June 12.
If we're lucky, the long-rumored PlayStation Showcase might happen around the same time as well.
