E3, the gaming expo that has been a staple at the Los Angeles Convention Center since it first launched in 1995, is shutting its doors for good after setting, then canceling, a show for last June. In recent years, big players with new ways to reach consumers directly had started bailing from the confab, which was further disrupted by Covid.
“After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye,” the Entertainment Software Association posted today on X, on what had for years been a central showcase for the video game industry.
“ESA remains focused on advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce who fuel positive cultural and economic impact every day,” the group told the Washington Post.
The event last summer had been scheduled to run from June 13-16 before being nixed with the ESA saying that while the show “remains a beloved event and brand,” the plans for E3 2023 “simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength and impact our industry.”
That would have been the first in-person E3 event since 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A digital version was held in 2021.
But big names in the games space including Microsoft, Ubisoft and Nintendo had said they would not be attending E3, in person or virtually, with most opting to host their own digital showcases.
