E3 2023 Cancelled General Gaming

[David76]

Earlier this year, we reported that E3 will make its long-awaited return to its now-traditional home of Los Angeles Convention Center in 2023 – but beyond that, details were a little light.

Today, we've got a little more information on what E3 2023 will actually look like, this time around. And confirmation of dates.

First up, the E3 2023 dates. For 2023, the show will return for a four-day expo from Tuesday, June 13 through Friday, June 16, 2023, and will feature separate industry and consumer days and spaces.

• Business Days: E3 Business Days will take place June 13 to June 15, and are reserved for registered industry personnel. There will be dedicated, industry-only halls and spaces, and media will be able to go hands-on with upcoming games showcased by developers and publishers from around the world (just like in events past).
• Gamer Days: Taking place on June 15 and June 16 (in a different hall than the industry area), these public-focused days invite consumers to go hands-on with games at the show, where they will have the chance to meet developers, content creators, media personalities, and more. A dedicated theatre of content, open to ticket holders, will run during these days and offer deep-dive looks at highly anticipated titles.

ReedPop and the ESA have also confirmed that "E3 will support and uplift partnered digital events taking place starting June 11 and running throughout the show".

"Our vision is to reunite the industry by re-establishing the traditional E3 week, bring back that spark, and restore E3's role as a truly magical global showcase event for game creators and consumers," says ReedPop VP of gaming, Kyle Marsden-Kish.

E3 2023 will be the first proper E3 show in four years: E3 2022 was cancelled altogether earlier this year, and E3 2021 was an online-only affair thanks to the continued threat of the coronavirus pandemic. E3 2020 was also cancelled for the same reason. After a few years where we've seen publishers and developers host their own showcases over the whole summer (and beyond), there's consumer and commercial appetite for a unified event, holding it all together.

If you want more information, you can head on over to the official E3 website.

 

[Dylan]

The ESA today announced that E3 2023 has been cancelled. This follows many major publishers and developers dropping out of what would've been the first in-person E3 event since 2019.

 

[David76]

In an official joint statement from the ESA and new event organisers for 2023, ReedPop, E3 "did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry."

Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming for ReedPop, shared that, "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."

"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," they conclude.

Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, a series of publishers announced they would not be attending the event. This includes Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, with Ubisoft, Sega, and Tencent more recently announcing the companies would not be attending.

E3 2023 was set to be the first in-person E3 event in four years. After COVID took its toll globally, the event was cancelled in 2020, with a digital-only event being hosted online in 2021. The 2022 event was also cancelled, with it being announced in July 2022 that E3 would be opening its doors again, for in-person interactions and showcases, in 2023.

ReedPop and the ESA has said that it will, "continue to work together on future E3 events."