The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, will not take place this June. Once considered the biggest annual gaming event, organizer ReedPop on Thursday confirmed that E3 2023 is canceled.
“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 Kyle Marsden-Kish, global vice president of gaming for ReedPop. “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.”
IGN earlier reported the cancellation citing an email sent by the Entertainment Software Association, the group that lobbies for the video game industry, to its members that had planned to participate in E3.
In June, the ESA revealed plans to have an in-person show on June 13-26, 2023, following the cancellations of the E3 2020 and 2022, and a digital-only event in 2021. The changes to the three shows were a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Game publishers such as Ubisoft, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo said in recent weeks they would not be in attendance for the show leading to speculation of the show’s cancelation. Instead, game companies like these will likely reveal the rest of their 2023 lineup and beyond in June via their own events. Summer Game Fest, a competing event showcasing upcoming games, is still set for June 8.
This year is shaping up to be a huge year for video games, with major franchise releases including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo 4 and Final Fantasy 16.
