E3 is officially dead for good
“After more than two decades of hosting an event that has served as a central showcase for the U.S and global video game industry,” the ESA is bringing E3 to an end, the CEO and president of the ESA, Stanley Pierre-Louis said (via The Washington Post). “We know the entire industry, players and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share that passion,” Pierre-Louis said. “We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners.”
While E3 was once an event with such a reach that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii consoles were revealed during the same show in 2005, it has been on a downward spiral in recent years. With the rise of online showcases like Nintendo Direct beginning to change how consumers get information about upcoming games, partners like Sony pulling out of the event, and more, E3 was already struggling to stay relevant in the rapidly changing industry.
Things then took a turn for the worse when E3 was canceled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but in 2021 it returned as a digital-only event. While its show in 2021 was decent enough, E3 was behind the curve compared to Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest, and as such, E3 was canceled again in 2022. The ESA said that the show would "return in 2023 with a reinvigorated showcase that celebrates new and exciting videogames and industry innovations," but again it was canceled.
It looks like that was the final nail in the coffin for E3, which will now move aside for events like Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards — check out our recap of The Game Awards 2023 from last week to catch all of the announcements that were made.
