In 2023, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021), shortened to E3, was canceled. It’s a foregone conclusion that the ESA’s (Entertainment Software Association) event will be canceled in 2024 and 2025. Has the time left it behind?

Earlier this year, we heard that neither Sony, Nintendo, nor Microsoft would attend the event that ReedPop planned to organize (as ESA did not want to run E3 directly). Still, it was common knowledge that Sony and Nintendo were going their separate ways (the ‘blues’ with State of Play and PlayStation Showcase, and the Japanese company with Nintendo Direct). Still, Microsoft’s absence seemed surprising, as they were at E3 almost always, as was Ubisoft.

Finally, the announcement was made: there was no E3 this year, but the ESA/ReedPop was already hopeful that the event would return in 2024. However, the Los Angeles Tourism Commission (the Los Angeles Convention Center is where E3 is held!) slipped up: on page 21 of the report, next to the number of nights booked, there is a note: “E3 cancellations for 2024 and 2025 are included”. And they slip it into the presentation. ReedPop has canceled the event well in advance to rethink the whole thing thoroughly.

Or, quite simply, Geoff Keighley’s event, Summer Games Fest, could take over from E3, and since the organizer is behind The Game Awards, he has the connections and was able to present the same thing we’ve seen at E3 so far with a more modern vision. Now the internet is an integral part of the games industry (and its press), so no more journalists are flying out from the country to the US to take many pictures and gather info that the domestic media can eventually publish on dozens of sites. Today, there is no print gaming magazine (although virtually everyone in our editorial team has worked at one).

So maybe we should say goodbye to E3 for good.

Source: PSU