After weeks of speculation and gaming giants such as Ubisoft confirming their absence from the event, organiser Entertainment Software Association (ESA) officially announced that Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will no longer happen this year. Veteran game journalist and the man behind The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley, revealed his take on why the gaming event has faced ‘challenges’ in recent years.
In a tweet, Keighley posted a throwback picture from E3 1995 and wrote, “Here’s 15-year old me at the first-ever E3 in 1995. E3 meant so much to me and to so many of you too. Four years ago, I realized that E3 wasn’t evolving as it needed to compete in a global, digital world. So we started building what’s next. See at @summergamefest June 8.”
E3 was supposed to make a return after four years
One of the reasons E3 2023’s cancellation has stirred the industry’s attention is because it hasn’t been organised in a physical location for the past four years. It was in the pre-pandemic era when E3 2019 was held in the Los Angeles Convention Centre – the event’s long-running choice of venue.
The latest cancellation also means that E3 has now been cancelled for a second consecutive year after the 2022 digital event was scrapped. In 2021, the event unfolded as a digital-only event after skipping 2020 amidst the pandemic.
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Summer Game Fest and other gaming showcase events have emerged
Since the pandemic hit in 2020, several other E3 alternatives have arrived on the scene such as Geoff Keighley’s own show, the Summer Game Fest – which also coincides with the same month E3 has taken place over the years. Besides this, console giants, such PlayStation and Xbox, and AAA game companies such as Ubisoft have also launched their own events, which has allowed them to make game announcements as per their own schedule.
Although E3 2023 is no longer on the cards, there are certain major confirmed events taking place soon. While the Summer Game Fest is set to host its 2023 rendition on June 8, Ubisoft has also confirmed it will conduct Ubisoft Forward on June 12.
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