Almost a year after announcing its return, the Entertainment Software Association announced today to its members that this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), has been canceled, IGN can confirm.
Two sources have confirmed to IGN that the organization announced the cancellation via an email sent out to its members today. The email said that while E3 "remains a beloved event and brand" that the 2023 version "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry."
The ESA concludes the email by reiterating its commitment to advocacy work. It does not mention undertaking the show again in future years.
Following IGN's report, the ESA 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.
The press release adds that ReedPop and the ESA will continue to work together on "future E3 events."
The event was supposed to be held from June 13th through June 16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center and would have been the first in-person E3 event since 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and while a digital version was held in 2021, the event was canceled again in 2022 in an effort to focus on a "revitalized showcase" that would set a new standard for hybrid industry events.
E3's return for this year was announced last June alongside the confirmation that E3 2022 had been canceled. The news comes as multiple big names in the industry, from Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation, and more recently, Ubisoft announced that it would not be attending E3 in any capacity, with most opting to host its own digital showcases.
IGN has reached out to the ESA and ReedPOP for comment.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.