In a move that may not be surprising to some, E3 2023 has been cancelled, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced.
Yesterday, IGN confirmed from two sources that the ESA has announced E3’s cancellation in an email sent out to the organisation’s members.
According to IGN, the email referred to E3 as “a beloved event and brand“, but that the planned 2023 event “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.“
Following the report from IGN, the ESA released a public statement from Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming at ReedPop:
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.
E3 2023, originally due to be held between June 13th and June 16th in Los Angeles, was announced last year after the ESA had also cancelled the 2022 version of the event. In recent months, multiple publishers including Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and more recently, Ubisoft, announced they would not be attending E3 2023 in any capacity.
ReedPop and the ESA states that they will continue to work together on “future E3 events.” However, with two years in a row of the event being cancelled, it’s not looking good for the trade event’s long-term survival.
It’s very clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way industry events are conducted, with many big publishers opting to do online-only digital events. It ends up being cheaper for them and more accessible to the general public.
However, smaller publishers and developers may struggle to create awareness of their upcoming releases without forking out a large budget for Summer Games Fest.
Source: IGN