E3 2023 Is Cancelled. Is Anyone Surprised? Does Anyone Care?

E3 Loses More Attendees
More Trouble For E3 2023

To absolutely no one’s surprise, 2023’s E3 has been shuttered. The event, which was scheduled for mid-June, had long been rumored to be in jeopardy. Over the past several months, all the major console makers (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) had pulled out of the once-iconic expo. Then publishers and developers started leaving; SEGA, Tencent, and Ubisoft are a few examples.

The announcement came as a simple change to E3’s official landing page. Visitors to the site were treated with this blurb:

Show organizer ReedPop announces E3 2023 will not take place as scheduled this June, with both physical and digital events canceled. Alongside the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), both parties will re-evaluate the future of E3.

The warning signs were there for some time. The ESA had not updated the expo’s page for a while. There was no schedule or ticketing info. The plan to cancel the event was probably in the works the second all three big names pulled out. What’s the point of an expo if the console makers aren’t showing up?

The cancellation is just one of the ESA’s many failures over the years. The pandemic led to multiple E3 events being drastically altered or outright scrubbed. In addition, 2019 saw the ESA suffer a massive security breach that leaked the personal info of over 2,000 people.

Since streaming live events on YouTube and other outlets became commonplace, the need for expos like E3 has been questioned. Attending costs have also become egregious for the average attendee and journalists. It would not be surprising if this same fate crept up, like the Red Death, on other big-name conventions.

I believe the first signs of infection that would eventually lead to E3’s irrelevance started with banning Booth Babes. So what do you think created the Electronic Entertainment Expo’s decline? Let us know below!

[Source: ESA] [Source: Sophia Narwitz] [Source: Wired]
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Mike Phalin

Longtime problematic entertainment journalist. The former workhorse for Dread Central, ScienceFiction.com, and Fanbolt.

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