E3 scrapped – the strange reason why gaming’s biggest convention is not happening this year

GAMING’S biggest yearly convention, E3, has been cancelled.

E3 went online a few years ago due to the restrictions put in place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florian Olivo via Unsplash

Gamers usually find out all the biggest releases at E3.[/caption]

2023 was to be the first year it went back to an in-person event, with many expecting big things from the convention.

Many of the biggest games are announced at E3, and it is often the place that gamers go to find out about upcoming games.

However, as the world goes increasingly online, many companies are choosing to announce games throughout the year with smaller showcases.

This is cheaper for the publishers as there are fees involved when hosting a show at the convention.

It is also more consumer friendly, as players have more time to watch these shorter showcases.

Rumours started swirling that E3 would be cancelled after some of the biggest publishers pulled out of the event.

PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo – gaming’s big three – first announced that they would not attend E3 this year.

Then statements from big third-party publishers such as Ubisoft and Sega said they would also skip the convention.

The number of industry players attending the event appeared to grow smaller and smaller.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming for E3, said: “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.”

A number of the companies that said they would not be attending instead confirmed that they would have their own showcases for fans in June.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.