The signs that this year’s E3 may be doomed, or at the very least, limping forward in a very-reduced capacity, continue to mount. After years of COVID-inflicted cancellations and half-measures, E3 was supposed to return this year courtesy of PAX producer ReedPop, but the new organizers haven’t been able to attract the most important thing for a successful E3 – publishers willing to show off their latest games. Yesterday, we heard that Ubisoft, one of the few major publishers to commit to the new E3, was pulling out, and now more no-shows have been confirmed.
According to a new article from IGN, Sega, Tencent’s Level Infinite label, and Devolver Digital won’t be at the show (technically, Devolver never officially attended E3, setting up shop across the street instead, but this year they’re not even doing that). Other publishers, including EA, Square Enix, Activision Blizzard, and Epic Games declined to comment on whether they’d be attending the show. We already know the big-three console makers, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, won’t be attending.
Interestingly, a number of publishers did say they would be attending “Play Days,” the in-person event associated with Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest. Speaking of which, never missing an opportunity to kick E3 while it’s down, Mr. Keighley today announced a date for the Summer Game Fest kickoff show. As usual, Keighley is promising this year’s Summer Game Fest will be the biggest ever.
Production is ramping up on our biggest @SummerGameFest ever – the video game industry comes together this June, kicking off live from @youtubetheater on Thursday, June 8.
Stay tuned for more details! pic.twitter.com/2qlZJKdCzl
— Summer Game Fest – Live June 8! (@summergamefest) March 28, 2023
So, is E3 doomed? While I’m not counting out a last-minute turnaround, it certainly feels like it. This is around the time when behind-the-scenes planning for E3 would usually begin, and there hasn’t been a peep from anybody. As a journalist, I can tell you, we have not returned to E3 season as usual. We’ll see what happens, but I’m not overly optimistic.
In theory, E3 is scheduled to run from June 13 to June 16 this year. Meanwhile, as mentioned above, Summer Game Fest kicks off on June 8 and will likely encompass multiple events throughout the summer. Take your bets, Wccftech comments section – does E3 actually happen this year or not?
