E3 Canceled for The Next Two Years
E3 has been canceled through 2025.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, has been canceled for 2023 due to the lack of presentational content from all major video game companies and console manufacturers, who had turned to their dedicated events. However, it would seem that the biggest gaming convention has been canceled for the upcoming 2024 and 2025, with many gamers stating that they’re actually not surprised, calling E3 the BlackBerry of electronic entertainment expos.
According to Wario64, the Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners noted that the E3 had been canceled for 2024 and 2025 as well, without any clear indication of whether the Expo would return in the future. As previously stated, this isn’t all that surprising, considering the power consolidation in gaming, especially when it comes to console manufacturers and their first-party studios.
Most studios, including the Big Three—Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo—have turned to their own dedicated events, leaving E3 without some of its most prominent content.
To be entirely honest, the world hasn’t been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic, and E3 event has been struggling ever since the lockdowns were lifted. The convention was historically held in Los Angeles’ Convention Center, occupying said space for about one week in June, and the space has to be reserved pretty far in advance.
E3 has been one of the largest events occupying said space, but given the cancellations due to lockdown, and subsequent lack of content, the Board of Commissioners noted that the space for the upcoming E3 hasn’t been reserved.
E3 was the biggest gaming conference and one of the most beloved events in the entire gaming industry. It was the place to visit if you wanted to be among the first to witness new release announcements, never before seen gameplay videos, console and gaming hardware announcements, and plenty of other stuff, too, including the iconic restaurant from the GTA.
In short, it was the gamers’ heaven. Unfortunately, it struggled to make a comeback in the post-COVID-19 world, making E3 2019 the last properly held E3 the gaming audiences visited.
E3 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic, so many developers and publishers held their own digital events—which turned out very beneficial for them. The next year’s convention was a digital event, but it lacked plenty of content, partially because of hardware shortages and software delays induced by the pandemic, so a lot of people felt that the event was weak.
The subsequent conventions, including E3 2022 and E3 2023, were canceled. There is an intent to bring the convention back in the future, but it might take some time before that actually happens.
With that said, the Entertainment Software Association, which organizes and presents E3, has stated that it’s still deciding on its plans for E3 2024 and beyond, but no final decision has been made, despite the statement made by the Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners.
It’s entirely possible for ESA to switch grounds and organize the next E3 convention in another city—with many gamers calling on the Association to hold the next convention in Miami.
