E3 2023 digital and physical events canceled

After weeks of rumors, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and organizer ReedPop announced that the 2023 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is officially canceled. According to the official E3 Twitter account, both the digital and physical events planned will no longer push through. The show was originally scheduled to take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, and run from June 11 to 16, 2023.

Initially, neither ReedPop nor the ESA specified the reason for the cancelation. A report in IGN cited an email sent out to ESA members that said that E3 2023 "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute [the show] in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry." The cancellation email did not mention if a 2024 or future show is planned.

Shortly after reports emerged, the ESA and ReedPop issued a joint statement:

This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what's right for the industry and what’s right for E3. 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. 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.

Even prior to the official cancellation of E3 2023, the show has been dogged by rumors and bad news over the past several years. 2023 would've been the first in-person E3 since 2019, as the 2020 and 2021 physical events were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. E3 was canceled again in 2022 as the ESA announced an effort to focus on a "revitalized" hybrid version for this year. In recent months, major game publishers and platform holders like Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft all announced that they wouldn't be participating. They'll be holding their own physical and digital showcase events.

With E3 2023 out of the picture, the nearest scheduled large-scale games showcase is the Summer Game Fest, which is scheduled for June 8, 2023.