The future of E3 currently looks quite bleak as publishers continue pulling out of the event left and right. Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony were the first to announce that they would not be in attendance. Recently, Ubisoft also announced that it would not be in attendance—despite publicly committing to E3 2023 earlier this year. Tencent and Sega have now joined the group of publishers and will not be in attendance. Now, many are beginning to suspect that the biggest gaming event of the year may not happen at all. Is E3 2023 doomed?
Thus far, there is no official list of confirmed publishers that will be in attendance. ReedPop, the new organizers behind E3 2023, stated that several AAA and indie publishers would be there, but did not specify beyond that. There has been a strong lack of communication from the event organizers as to what is expected from the show as well.
IGN wrote that they spoke to multiple individuals that stated that typically, the event plans are confirmed well before March comes in. However, it looks like this year has been different. For publishers, an event of this size is typically a big ticket and requires lots of staff and personnel to help. It is possible that due to monetary issues across the gaming industry, many publishers aren’t finding the benefit in paying too much to attend E3 this year.
There is also the presence of Geoff Keighley’s Play Days, which is an in-person media-only event that took place in June back in 2022. It seems like there are many games set to be announced during Play Days and more games than last year.
It is a massive issue for the future of E3, which now seems to be in limbo. Media and gamers alike are beginning to doubt that the show will go on. In fact, a knowledgeable source told IGN ahead of Ubisoft’s announcement that: “There’s no possible way this show can happen.”
Sega and Tencent Have Left As Well
Sega confirmed that it would not be in attendance at E3, stating, “After careful consideration, we have decided not to participate in E3 2023 as an exhibitor. We look forward to sharing more information on announced and unannounced projects in the future.”
Tencent also confirmed that it would not be attending E3 2023.
It is also extremely likely that more publishers will be pulling out of the event. It is certainly a bizarre year for the gaming industry. E3 has not held an in-person event for some time, and it was even canceled back in 2022. Organization was passed off to ReedPop, who were tasked with bringing the event back to an in-person format for 2023.
Despite many publishers working with ReedPop on the organization of E3, many are now seeming to be leaving the event behind. Ubisoft was one of the biggest supporters of E3 2023, but its latest announcement of hosting its own event and abstaining from E3 is a major blow to the event.
It is also possible that many publishers may begin to leave along with the sea, fearing that they may be sticking to an event that no other publisher cares for anymore. Whatever the reasons may be, it certainly is a different scenario for the industry as a whole. If E3 2023 is truly doomed, what will the future for gaming events look like?
Want more DZSH with you? Sign up for our newsletter today for fun games, updates, and more!
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
