E3 2023 cancelled as community say ‘writing was on the wall’
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E3, the world’s largest gaming expo, has been cancelled this year. Both the physical and digital E3 event will not be happening this year – as confirmed by Reedpop.
It follows some of the largest publishers, Nintendo, Xbox, Ubisoft and Sony confirming earlier in the week that they were skipping the event this year. Other publishers followed suit, with Sega and Tencent also deciding to skip the annual event in LA, as reported by IGN.
E3 cancelled community reaction
The cancellation does not come as a surprise to the community. One gamer wrote on Reddit: “Writing was on the wall. None of the big 3 console makers, most of the top studios out. The cost/benefit wasn’t there.”
On Twitter, hundreds of gamers reacted to the news, with many believing that this signals the end of the event as we know it.
“An end of an era…. Thank you for all the amazing years I spent attending your event,” one wrote. Another added: “Thank you for everything E3. I’ll always remember those 3-4 days in the summer, coming inside after a hot summer day to settle in and watch all the games get announced and the discussion after. It was my favorite time of the summer. I’ll truly miss you.”
Some gamers, despite the bad news, still managed to keep high spirits. “LOOKS LIKE I’M GOING TO SUPER NINTENDO WORLD IN JUNE,” wrote one on Twitter. “It’s okay guys they said we can do it at my house,” said another.
E3 was canceled in 2020 due the COVID-19 outbreak, replaced with a digital event in 2021, before being cancelled again in 2022.
As per IGN, ReedPop’s Kyle Marsden-Kish, theGlobal VP of Gaming, said in a press release: “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.”
He added that “future E3 events” will be worked on – which leads us into the all-important question.
Will there be another E3?
There has been nothing official stating that this is the last E3 event, so unless anything changes we hope the event will return next year. The comments from Marsden-Kish are also encouraging especially the reference to “future E3 events”.
Its absence leaves a colossal hole in the gaming calendar with the event typically used to showcase some of the biggest games coming to console and PC. Sadly, its an absence gamers are starting to get used to, after a sporadic frequency of E3 events over the past few years.
All eyes will now be on Gamescom in August, which is typically a smaller event. With E3 not happening, some publishers may turn their attention to the Cologne-based gaming event – which continues to draw thousands of fans every year.
