E3 2023 was supposed to be the big comeback for what was once the biggest gaming convention on the planet. That plan will be much tougher to accomplish, given the news broken by IGN earlier today.
It seems like none of the console platform holders (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) plans to actually be on the show floor at E3 2023. Sony’s decision is the least unexpected, as the PlayStation company decided to break off with the ESA even before COVID happened and threw all conventions apart. Nintendo usually had a booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, though this year they may feel like there wouldn’t be much point, given that their only big game scheduled in 2023 (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) will be already released at that point.
The most surprising is Microsoft because the Xbox company sits on the ESA board. Just a few days ago, CEO of gaming division Phil Spencer told IGN Microsoft would continue to work with ESA to make the convention successful, and yet it appears there won’t be an E3 2023 Xbox booth, either.
E3 2023 will be the first in-person edition of the expo since COVID. The ESA teamed up with PAX producer ReedPop to bring back the convention, and a ReedPop spokesperson shared a comment on today’s news.
E3 is such a significant event for the game industry and being entrusted with an important cultural touchstone is not a responsibility ReedPop takes lightly. Since ReedPop took on the contract to run E3 six months ago, we’ve worked diligently with ESA members based on their feedback to create a new type of E3 that supports their goals and needs.
This process has taken time due to the tremendous amount of stakeholders offering input, though we appreciate that we could have been more transparent to questions for which we were still finalizing the answers. We continue to work tirelessly to create a show that brings together the global gaming industry. We believe we’ve created a new format for the event that serves the needs of both the industry and its fans, and are committed to building and growing it in the coming years.
As we spent much of 2022 refining how E3 2023 would take shape, reflecting on the feedback we solicited, we did not send a single contract to an exhibitor until the start of this month. We have received a tremendous amount of interest and verbal commitments from many of the biggest companies in the industry, and when we are ready to announce the exhibitors we are confident it will be a lineup that will make the trip to Los Angeles well worth it for the industry and consumers alike.
E3 2023 will take place between June 13th and June 16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Geoff Keighley will also host his own Summer Game Fest event around the same time.
It’s worth noting that just because Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo won’t have E3 booths, it doesn’t mean they won’t be doing game showcases around that time.
