E3 2023 has been cancelled

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that the 2023 Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) has been cancelled. In an email to their partners, the ESA has stated that while E3 “remains a beloved event and brand” that this year’s 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.”

In their email to partners, the ESA did not confirm whether or not they are planning an E3 2024 event. This could mean that E3 is officially dead, a relic of the past that may never return.

What caused the death of E3? The simple answer is a lack of support from major brands, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all skipping E3 in favour of their own announcement events. With these events, brands do not need to compete with anyone else for attention from the gaming press, allowing their projects to be discussed more widely and showcased to the largest possible audience. Without support from major console manufacturers and publishers, E3 could not be large enough to live up to its legacy as the world’s premiere gaming event.

While the COVID 19 pandemic is a major factor that has caused E3’s cancellation, being the cause of the cancellation of E3 2020, the reason why E3 2021 was digital-only, and why E3 2022 was cancelled, the real reason why E3 collapsed is because big publishers had simply moved on from the event. Why spend all that money competing for attention at E3 when you can grab the same attention for less money with your own event without any competition?

News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ

— E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023

Right now the future of E3 remains unclear, though it seems that E3 as we knew it is no more.

You can join the discussion on E3 2023’s cancellation on the OC3D Forums.