UPDATE: ESA says “no final decisions” made about 2024 show and beyond.
UPDATE 10.45pm: In a statement provided to Eurogamer following the Los Angeles City Tourism Department’s suggestion that E3 shows planned for 2024 and 2025 have been cancelled, the ESA has said it’s “currently having conversations about E3 2024 (and beyond), and no final decisions about the event have been made at this time.”
ORIGINAL STORY 10.11pm: Following the shock cancellation of this year’s E3 back in March, new details shared by the Los Angeles City Tourism Department suggest the games industry trade show won’t be making a comeback anytime soon, with shows scheduled for 2024 and 2025 now also seemingly cancelled.
As spotted by Restera, the Entertainment Software Association, which owns E3, had initially booked the Los Angeles Convention Centre for the weeks beginning 11th June 2024 and 3rd June 2025 – dates shared as part of a Los Angeles City Tourism Department report last October.
However, in a new report dated earlier this month, the Los Angeles City Tourism Department included a footnote indicating the planned E3 2024 and 2025 shows have now been cancelled.
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It’s perhaps not an entirely surprising development for a trade show that has struggled to maintain its relevance in an era where most major publishers prefer to share their news on a more relaxed schedule via digital events and livestreams, particularly given the sudden demise of what was to be E3’s big comeback earlier this year.
E3 2023 was set to mark the grand return for a show that hadn’t had a physical component since 2019 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the event – which was being handled by PAX and EGX organiser (and Eurogamer parent company) Reedpop – was officially cancelled in March as more and more major industry players either shunned E3 or backed out.
“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,” Reedpop said in a statement released at time. “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.”
With E3 2023 officially dead, ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis would not be drawn on the show’s possible return in 2024, only saying the organisation was “committed to providing an industry platform for marketing and convening”, but that it wanted to “find that right balance that meets the needs of the industry”.
In E3’s absence, the Geoff Keighley fronted Summer Game Fest moved in to fill the void with a physical event for press and influencers, as well as a series of digital showcases – including a number from major publishers – under the Summer Game Fest banner. Keighley has already confirmed the event will return for 2024.
I’ve contacted the ESA for comment on this latest E3 development.
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