E3 2023 is Officially Canceled
This marks the second cancelation in a row after its 2022 digital event also suffered the same fate.
According to an email sent by the ESA, E3 2023 is officially canceled because it “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.” ReedPop, the event’s organizer and promoter mentioned that both digital and physical events have been axed.
This is yet another cancelation that E3 suffers. The first time was in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. The 2021 version was done digitally, but it seems that the event could never recover from the tremendous impact that the pandemic caused.
The 2022 version was going to also be an all-digital event, but it did not gain enough momentum to justify all the big names joining the party. Everyone started doing events of their own; their presentations were something similar to what Nintendo has been doing for years with its Nintendo Direct.
E3 2023 was going to be the first in-person convention since 2019; everyone was very excited for the occasion, except for the publishers and industry giants like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo who have been doing their own thing for years. Ubisoft was the latest company to announce that their presence at E3 was canceled, and instead, they will do an event of their own.
Doing separate events seems to be the tendency within the industry. They make a pre-recorded presentation showcasing upcoming titles, showing pre-rendered trailers, and teasing us with a logo on a black background with no release date to be seen.
Looks like everyone will be making announcements on their own terms, on a date they see fit. Companies don’t want to feel the pressure to be tied to an event to make big announcements. One tendency we have noticed is that sometimes companies don’t even have anything worth showing, so they recur to teasers bereft of a realistic release window, all for the sake of having something to show during E3.
Sadly, it seems that the industry is moving on from big events like E3, and instead will do ‘Direct-style’ presentations whenever there is a bunch of things worth announcing. Another contributing factor might be that throughout the year, we have other big events like Gamescom, the Summer Game Fest, and the Game Awards, where we usually see exclusive announcements and ‘world premieres.
Should the ESA reassess what they want to do with the event? It will be sad to hear that the event is going to be canceled indefinitely. E3 has become the most iconic event for the gaming industry, and perhaps Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, and the big publishers should respect it and not take it for granted. There are smaller publishers that are looking forward to events like this to showcase their games to the media, and fans.
What are your thoughts on E3 2023 being canceled? Were you looking forward to it? Let me know in the comments below.
