ESA and ReedPop Announce Cancellation of E3 2023

March 31, 2023

E3, the world’s premier celebration of interactive entertainment, will not take place in person or digitally this year, according to an announcement by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and ReedPop, the show’s organizer. 

Last July, ESA partnered with ReedPop, a boutique division of RX, to spearhead the long-awaited return of E3 to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2023. The event, which was scheduled to take place June 13-16, had not been held since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“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,” said Kyle Marsden-Kish, global VP of gaming, ReedPop, in a statement. “We appreciate and understand that interested companies wouldn’t have playable demos ready and that resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they couldn’t overcome.”

Marsden-Kish added, “For those who did commit to E3 2023, we’re sorry we can’t put on the showcase you deserve and that you’ve come to expect from ReedPop’s event experiences.”

According to ReedPop, while E3 will not take place in 2023, many of the digital showcases scheduled around E3 dates will still go forward, and ReedPop and the ESA will continue to work together on future E3 events.

The announcement of the cancellation comes shortly after some companies confirmed they would not be part of this year’s E3, including Ubisoft, Sega and Tencent, while Xbox, Nintendo and Sony PlayStation had also pulled out of the show, according to an IGN report.

E3 has long been the world’s premier event for computer and video games and related products. The show is owned by the ESA, the U.S. trade association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies developing and publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the internet.

 

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