The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, has canceled its 2023 event.
E3 was previously scheduled to take place June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in-person for the first time since 2019. The gaming convention, once considered the most influential showcase in the industry, was canceled in 2020 and 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. The expo held a virtual edition in 2021.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and show organizer ReedPop announced the cancellation of the physical and digital events with a joint statement.
“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, ReedPop’s global VP of gaming. “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.”
The cancellation comes after some of gaming’s biggest names — including Nintendo, PlayStation and Ubisoft — announced they would not be participating in E3 in any capacity. Microsoft announced it would not be on the show floor but would co-stream its Xbox Games Showcase as part of E3 Digital.
IGN, which first broke the news, obtained an internal memo saying that while E3 “remains a beloved event and brand,” the 2023 version “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.”
