E3 2023 Stands Canceled

IGN has confirmed that the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2023 won’t be happening this year despite the fact that they marked their return almost a year ago. 

The E3 2023 was called off as it simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary for it to have been executed in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry. The ESA currently has no plans for reviving the same in the future until we get to hear anything different. 

The ESA planned on holding E3 2022 both physically and online, but both versions were scrapped.

Several Major developers and publishers including Nintendo, Xbox, and Playstation chose to back out from E3 2023 which indeed culminated in the cancellation of the event. The community was indeed looking forward to the revival of the same as their comeback to the big stage had been imminent so far. 

E3 2023 was the first Electronic Entertainment Expo to be held after the 2019 iteration which was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center before it was canceled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. In 2021, a digital version was conducted instead; and in 2022, it was postponed again so that organizers could concentrate on a “revitalized showcase” that would become the new gold standard for hybrid industry events.

Sony after E3 2018 decided to no longer participate and has not been persuaded back by the organizers while Nintendo who indeed is a regular at E3, didn’t have much to display this year, though, because its biggest game of the year, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, don’t come out until May. Meanwhile, reports indicated that Microsoft was reducing expenses, taking into account their cost cut-outs.

“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,” stated Kyle Marsden-Kish, Reedpop’s Global VP of Gaming in a press release.

“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 June, game publishers and developers will have another option in the form of the Geoff Keighley-produced Summer Game Fest. Microsoft and Ubisoft will still hold digital events at the Summer Game Fest which takes place June 8-10.

Post the backout of the Big 3, Indie developers were indeed marred by the unfortunate fate and cancellation of the E3 2023.  Amid rumors of a delay for the pivotal 2023 game Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Ubisoft backtracked on its confirmation of presence. Sega and Tencent both issued statements confirming their withdrawal after hearing the news.

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