E3 2023 Cancelled

The Entertainment Software Association organizers announced today the cancellation of E3 2023 due to the reported withdrawal of major publishers including Sega, Ubisoft, and Tencent. These companies, along with console manufacturers Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, had already confirmed that they would not be participating in this year’s E3 event, which was set to bring the highly anticipated gaming industry show back to Los Angeles after a four-year hiatus.

“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 VP of gaming at ReedPop, via a press release, with the statement shared by IGN (archive | screenshot). “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.”

Initially scheduled to take place from June 13th to June 16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the event was meant to mark the return of the first in-person E3 event since 2019. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was called off in 2020. Though a digital version of the event took place in 2021, the organizers opted to cancel the 2022 edition to concentrate on a “revitalized showcase” that would establish a new benchmark for hybrid industry events.

The news comes after major publishers like Tencent, Sega, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo decided not to attend.

The Entertainment Software Association and ReedPop still intend to work together on upcoming events, according to their statement.

[Source]: E3Expo.com: Home Page – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. @E3 (Twitter): News on #E32023 from the source – [Archive] – [Screenshot].