The ESA has addressed the recent rumors that E3 won’t be held for the next two years. While the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo convention was once the definitive outlet for new video game reveals and special showcases, the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, decreased interest in the show, and the rise of viable alternatives like Summer Game Fest has caused the last couple of E3s to either be canceled outright or met with a more lukewarm reception. While E3 made a brief comeback with its online-only 2021 livestream, the event would later be canned in both 2022 and 2023.
Even before COVID caused a worldwide lockdown nearly three years ago, many within the gaming industry speculated that E3 was starting to lose its luster as early as 2016. E3’s cancelation earlier this year hasn’t helped matters, with observers seeing it as the beginning of the end for the once-must-see E3 gaming convention. Recent rumors have suggested that the next two E3s might not be held either, adding credence to the idea that it might never recover from the setback of being called off for two years in a row already.
Reports of E3’s demise might have been greatly exaggerated though, as the Entertainment Software Association just came forward to address the rumors of E3 2024 and 2025 being canceled. In a statement made to GamesIndustry.biz yesterday, the ESA denied such claims and said that no final decisions have been made regarding future E3 events. However, the company also pointed out that it is currently discussing the future of E3 in the wake of the previous two cancelations, so anything is still possible at this point.
In the absence of E3, several other smaller online gaming showcases have stepped in to serve as a preview of things to come, the most prominent of which has been Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest. Publishers like Xbox, Ubisoft, and Nintendo have also held their own standalone gaming livestreams earlier this month, providing trailers and new insights for upcoming titles like Star Wars Outlaws and Super Mario Bros. Wonder on top of the Summer Game Fest’s blockbuster reveals.
E3 may not be making its triumphant return this year, but the previously-massive summer gaming blockbuster event isn’t dead yet - at least not according to the Entertainment Software Association. Despite the rumors of E3 being canceled for the next two years, nothing has been officially decided for the show’s 2024 and 2025 events as of this writing.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz