Why was E3 cancelled?

After months of teasers and a return to a physical event, E3 is officially cancelled. The video games convention was last held in-person in 2019, with the COVID pandemic putting a halt on operations. After skipping 2020, the event was held online in 2021, but cancelled once again in 2022. The event’s woes continue as it has been cancelled once again in 2023.

E3 cancelled after failing to “garner sustained interest”

Explaining why the event had to be cancelled, Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming at ReedPop stated:

“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.”

Before the announcement, fans were already speculating that the convention would be cancelled. After major publishers like Ubisoft backed out at the last minute, it became increasingly evident, E3 wouldn’t have a strong lineup.

With confirmation that E3 won’t be held this year, fans are wondering if it will ever come back. To this, ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis stated:

“We’re committed to providing an industry platform for marketing and convening but we want to make sure we find that right balance that meets the needs of the industry. We’re certainly going to be listening and ensuring whatever we want to offer meets those needs and at that time, we will have more news to share.”

While the event’s future is uncertain, publishers like Microsoft and Ubisoft will continue hosting their own events for announcements and updates in the future.