After much build-up (and obvious hints) about the cancellation of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, it is now officially confirmed by IGN's inside sources (and the official E3 account) that E3 2023 is called off in both digital and physical capacities.

This came as no surprise, seeing as major industry players like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Ubisoft had already announced their withdrawal from the scene (as well as Sega and Tencent according to IGN reports), and rumors about the lack of communication from the organizing bodies ESA and ReedPop had been circulating for quite some time, with one source telling IGN a few days ago, "There’s no possible way this show can happen."

An excerpt from the message sent to IGN's sources reads: "While E3 is still a cherished event and brand, this year's E3 simply didn't generate the lasting buzz needed to pull it off in a manner that would demonstrate the size, strength, and impact of our industry."

In the aftermath of Ubisoft's recent withdrawl from E3, IGN contacted several people with inside knowledge of past E3 events and strategies. None of them reported hearing from anyone about concert plans to attend E3 this year, and they said that by this time in March, all of the details regarding plans for past E3 conferences should have been finalized. This has led to a haze of confusion this year, with some of them even asking IGN if it knew anything that could help them decide their course of action and allocate proper budgets.

News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ

— E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023

In an email to The Verge, ReedPop's Global VP of Gaming (Kyle Marsden-Kish) shed a little more light on the situation, saying: "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." The email goes on to say that E3 may return in future years, and that ReedPop and the ESA will work together when that time comes.

A few minutes after the cancellation news broke, Geoff Keighley (the host of Summer Game Fest and former E3 host) confirmed that Summer Game Fest will indeed return this year on Thursday, June 8, and will be streamed live around the world.

Posted: Mar 30, 2023 6:21 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/now-sega-and-tencent-have-confirmed-they-wont-be-attending-e3/