Three years of mourning E3: Where did it go and why is it missed?

As summer approaches, many gamers will undoubtedly be looking forward to Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest to see what the future of the industry entails. Yet, each year, the spectre of the late great E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) lingers in memory, reminding us of greener pastures.

But where did it go, what has it been replaced by, and why will these substitutes never live up to their predecessor?

E3 was once a titanic event, the coming together of gamers and developers alike – in person and online – to revel in the announcements of future releases. It was an event unlike any other, a unification of video game “hype” stretched across a week. But where did it go, what has it been replaced by, and why will these substitutes never live up to their predecessor?

The central trade event for the video games industry has been E3 for just over 20 years. What started as a corporate event for members of the press, developers, and other industry professionals had become an annual global phenomenon. Each year was packed with exhilarating reveals of entries in existing beloved franchises, as well as entirely new IPs. 

Unfortunately, the chaotic storm of the infamous COVID-19 pandemic brought this source of joy to a conclusive end. Cancelled for the first time in 2020 due to safety concerns, this marked the slow death of the industry’s biggest event. It was hosted online in 2021, and the event was cancelled permanently in 2023. According to analysts, the expo had “struggled to remain relevant.”

The cost of attending and hosting in-person events was simply too great compared to the benefits

Companies had started to realise that they could accomplish all that they had with E3 by operating independently and online. The cost of attending and hosting in-person events was simply too great compared to the benefits.

Consequently, Nintendo Directs and Sony’s State of Play streams quickly became the standard. These, in combination with Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest, have become the new norm for industry reveals. While hints of E3’s magic remain in these replacements, such events fall short of the size and spectacle of E3’s might.

Many will remember the various moments from past E3’s that have been cemented in gaming history. Keanu Reeves joyfully announcing “you’re all breath-taking!” after the Cyberpunk 2077 cinematic trailer in 2019, Bill Ritch stating that Genji 2’s battle sequences were grounded in “famous battles which actually took place in ancient Japan” before having to awkwardly acknowledge the “giant enemy crab” he had begun fighting soon after his claim, the live performance of a Japanese shakuhachi bamboo flute for the Ghost of Tsushima gameplay demo… All of these moments, and many more, demonstrated the character at the heart of E3 – something that its successors have largely failed to capture.

For me, these summers almost revolved around the guaranteed chills that these announcements would bring me

Furthermore, the scale of E3’s reveals was simply incomparable. 2016’s expo is one that remains firmly rooted in my memory. As a young gamer who had recently upgraded from my trusty Wii U to a PS4, I felt as if my third eye had opened upon being exposed to the multitude of new worlds that I would later be exploring. What would become God of War 2018, Resident Evil 7, Death Stranding, and Insomniac’s Spiderman all revealed in the same year? Madness.

My tiny mind was exploding with visions of the future. And, in 2017, it happened again, followed by yet another year of wonder in 2018’s presentations. For me, these summers almost revolved around the guaranteed chills that these announcements would bring me.

E3 felt like I was being hit from every angle, knocked down onto the proverbial canvas from the sheer excitement of each reveal. And just when I was about to get up, I’d be pummelled with yet another thrilling showcase. If E3 was the Elden Ring of events, Summer Games Fest has shown itself to be more of a Dark Souls 2 – enthralling occasionally, but, for the most part, underwhelming.

Ultimately, today’s State of Plays, Nintendo Directs, and Summer Games Fests lack the soul of E3. Surprise reveals are often robbed from us by data miners and leaks, which consequently create a world in which potential reveals often become confirmations of what is already known. Without E3’s presence, the industry is simply not the same. The void that it has left will perhaps never be filled. With all that being said, if Sony announces Bloodborne 2 in the next State of Play, my opinion will inevitably be subject to change.

Hideaki Nishino… I am waiting.