There hasn’t been an E3 since 2019. A part of that’s because of the pandemic, and a part of it is because of a complete lack of help from main publishers, a pattern that began earlier than 2019 however solely accelerated when in-person occasions turned unattainable. Regardless of this, the Leisure Software program Affiliation, the org behind the occasion, has refused to name time on E3’s physique — yearly they’ve insisted there might be one, and yearly they’ve needed to stroll again the assertion when not sufficient folks signed on.
It took till December of 2023, however they lastly admitted it at present: E3 is useless. “After greater than 20 years of E3, every one greater than the final, the time has come to say goodbye,” ESA posted on its web site. “Thanks for the reminiscences. GGWP.” ESA CEO and president Stanley Pierre-Louis elaborated additional in an interview with WaPo: “We all know the complete business, gamers and creators alike have lots of ardour for E3. We share that keenness. We all know it’s troublesome to say goodbye to such a beloved occasion, but it surely’s the fitting factor to do given the brand new alternatives our business has to achieve followers and companions.”
At its peak E3 was a gazillion-dollar non-public conference the place huge sport publishers would spend numerous {dollars} on elaborate cubicles exhibiting off the video games they deliberate to promote that 12 months. However as prices saved rising and streaming video turned extra widespread, corporations began turning away from conventions in favor of addressing their audiences instantly, at a fraction of the promotional price.
Nevertheless it’s not like huge fats specified occasion days the place each writer screams for consideration on the identical time have gone away. As folks have been saying recently (often in a damaging tone), The Recreation Awards has principally turn out to be a 2020s model of E3 as a substitute of an award ceremony. Geoff Keighley’s different presentation, Summer season Video games Fest, was meant to interchange E3 from the start.
