E3 2023 has been cancelled

The 2023 edition of E3 has been cancelled, due to a lack of “sustained interest” in the show, IGN has reported.

In an email to its members, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed that the show would not be going ahead because it did not receive the interest “necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry”.

This comes after widespread speculation that the big three game developers – Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft – would not be attending the show. Both Nintendo and Microsoft later confirmed that they wouldn’t be attending, alongside publishers including Ubisoft, Sega and Tencent. Sony hasn’t attended an E3 since 2018.

It was due to be held from 13-16 June, and would have been the first in-person E3 event since 2019. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, held digitally in 2021, and then cancelled last year to focus on a “revitalised showcase” that would set a new standard for hybrid industry events.

The ESA partnered with ReedPop, operator of PAX and other pop culture events, to run the 2023 edition of the event. Following IGN’s report, it issued a public statement from Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming at ReedPop, which read: “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.”

It added: “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.”

According to the press release, ReedPop and the ESA will continue to work together on “future E3 events”.