LogInEntertainment Software Association cited lack of interest as the reason for the event's cancelation.
Entertainment Software Association officially announced that this year's E3, an in-person and online gaming/game development event that was set to take place on June 13-16, 2023, has been canceled.
As confirmed by IGN, ESA sent an email to its employees, noting that while E3 "remains a beloved event and brand", the upcoming 2023 conference "did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry", referring to the decision of multiple big-league game development studios, such as Nintendo, Sony, Xbox, Ubisoft, SEGA, Tencent, and many others, to skip E3 2023, citing this lack of interest as the reason for the event's cancelation.
Following that, Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming at ReedPop, an event organizer that ESA had partnered with, shared a public statement regarding the decision to call off the conference:
"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," the statement reads. "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."
Additionally, Marsden-Kish noted that ReedPop and the ESA will continue their partnership on the "future E3 events", indicating that the convention might return someday in the coming years.
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