The video game industry's biggest expo has been canceled once again.
The annual event had been scheduled to make a return from June 13 to 16, after several years of Covid-19 disruption. However, Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and events company Reedpop announced in an official statement that E3 has been canceled.
Expected though heartbreaking as this news comes after numerous publishers declared that they're not joining the event, which consequently confused the state of E3 2023.
“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,” ReedPop's global vice president of gaming Kyle Marsden-Kish said in the statement. “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.”
In the joint statement, ReedPop and the ESA added that they will continue to collaborate on future E3 events. However, there is no confirmation on E3 2024, as E3's return this year was confirmed last June following the cancelation of E3 2022.
E3 might be skipping the summer, but there are still some big gaming events to watch.
- June 8: Summer Game Fest
- June 11: Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct
- June 12: Ubisoft's Forward Live
