No more tricks, no new organizer, no way out: what was once considered the biggest event in the gaming industry is gone.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, used to be one of the most important times of the summer for the industry. There was a brief period when the event was only open to the press (2007 was certainly one of those years), but years have passed and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced that the event will no longer be held in 2024, so next year it will be a waste of time to go to the Los Angeles Convention Center (the traditional venue for E3).

The E3 website now has only a short farewell message: “After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, it is time to say goodbye. Thank you for the memories. ESA President Stanley Pierre-Louis gave an interview to the Washington Post: “We know that the entire industry, gamers and developers alike, have a lot of passion for E3. We share that passion. We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners.

E3’s decline already began in 2018. That’s when Sony Interactive Entertainment decided not to participate. It started a domino effect with other companies pulling out (like Electronic Arts, who had EA Play Live, if we’re not mistaken). In 2020, Geoff Keighley, a longtime E3 staffer, also left and has since launched his own E3 replacement, Summer Game Fest, so it’s not just The Game Awards that are associated with him.

2019 was the last in-person E3, 2020 was swept away by the pandemic, and 2021 was digital-only. A digital event was planned for 2022, but that was scrapped, as was the hybrid solution for 2023. And that was the end of E3…

Source: Gematsu