E3 is cancelled this year, and it might not ever come back

pcgamesn.com:

The last time I covered E3, it was 2015, the year that Sony confirmed Final Fantasy 7 Remake was actually in development. This was an RPG game that people had been speculating about for more than a decade, a game which, by that point, seemed largely the invention of forums and the imaginations of over-optimistic fans. And then there it was. And it was real. And for a second, despite all the pomp, bluster, and occasionally embarrassing on-stage antics for which E3 had become partly known, it was, genuinely, a little bit magic. And now E3 2023 is cancelled, and it seems possible that it may never return.

Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Ubisoft had all announced they would not present at E3 this year, leaving the show without the major publishers and developers for which it previously provided an annual platform.

On March 30, E3 organiser The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed that the 2023 event would be cancelled. The last in-person E3 was held in 2019, with the 2020 show cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A digital version of the event was held in 2021 and also planned for the following year – though E3 2022 would also eventually be cancelled, as the ESA attempted to overhaul the show’s format.

Now, ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis explains why E3 2023 is cancelled, and discusses the possibility of the formally titled Electronic Entertainment Expo making a return.

“Historically, E3 served as an industry platform to make announcements about games products and services, as well as an opportunity for business to get done,” Pierre-Louis says. “Over the years, even as consumers were invited to participate in E3, the event focused largely on the industry’s marketing and business needs. However,