As the gaming world reels from the news, it has become apparent that the beloved Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) has officially been cancelled for 2023. The event, which has been a staple for the gaming industry for decades, was scheduled to take place from June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This would have marked the first in-person E3 since 2019, but it seems that gamers and industry professionals will have to wait a little longer to see if the event can make a comeback. Given that E3 hasn’t mustered an in-person event since 2019, it seems unlikely that it will be able to do so now.

E3 was the victim of the Great Pan-Damnit, with the event being canceled in both 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They held the event online in 2021, but all the major players that usually turn up at E3 have backed out. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony all backed out months ago, and with just four months to go, other publishers have bailed as well.

Of the game companies Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, Activision, Blizzard, Take Two, Warner Bros. Games, Sega, Epic Games, and Square Enix, all of them have released statements that they would not be attending E3 this year.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the lobbying group that organizes E3, confirmed the cancellation of the event, stating that the 2023 version “simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the gaming industry to its fullest potential”

The ESA has issued the following public statement from Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming, ReedPop:

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.

E3 has been a major trade show for the gaming industry for years, providing a platform for developers, publishers, and hardware manufacturers to showcase their latest innovations and releases. The event has been instrumental in creating buzz for upcoming games and consoles, as well as allowing industry professionals to network and collaborate.

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