E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled As More Publishers Opt Out Of The Event

Comments

I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming, but the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has cancelled E3 2023. This year would have been the first in-person E3 since the whole world came to a screeching halt due to COVID-19. It would have also been the first E3 to be organized by, the organizers behind the PAX conventions.

Recent announcements that SEGA, Ubisoft, and Tencent won’t be attending this year’s event along with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, however, have forced the ESA to cancel the event altogether since it “simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry.”

“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,” announced ReedPop Global VP of Gaming Kyle Marsden-Kish. “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.”

ReedPop also promised that it will continue to work with the ESA on “future E3 events”. Whether they’ll be able to generate enough interest in the event next year, or whether there will be future E3 events at all remains to be seen.