Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has officially announced stop organizing Electronic entertainment exhibition, also known as E3. After E3 2023 was canceled due to the gaming industry’s lack of interest in the event, the future of the once famous exhibition is on the brink and the latest announcement is the final nail in the coffin. of E3.
E3 was once considered the gaming industry’s most important conference in decades. This event started in 1995 and has continued continuously over the years until the pandemic period. COVID-19 when all live events suffered close the door. Following the online E3 event in 2021, the cancellation of E3 2022 and 2023, and the rise of alternatives such as the Summer Game Festival, rumors of the cancellation of E3 2024 and 2025 began to surface. presently.
Recently, the Entertainment Software Association decided to end E3. ESA made this decision based on how gamers have changed their habits during the pandemic. Another reason is that some of ESA’s former partners have decided to pull out of E3 and instead choose to announce their games in other ways. Although the exodus of developers from E3 started in 2011 when Nintendo held its Nintendo Direct event, the trend increased after a year without E3 (2020). ESA Chief Executive Stanley Pierre-Louis said: “We know it is difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it is necessary to do so given the new opportunities the sector we have to reach fans and partners”.
Considering how profitable E3 2021 has been and the event cancellations in recent years, it’s no surprise that ESA decided to put an end to E3. Organizations spent $6 million on E3 2021 but only earned $3.4 million. Without support from major partners, the above trend can hardly be reversed.
Currently, although E3 is no longer there, major game conferences still exist: Tokyo Game Show, Brasil Game Show, Taipei Game Show and Gamescom. Although the above are all major events, taking place all over the world, no event possesses as much history and importance as E3 for many gamers. However, variable events create room for other events to develop. The summer game festival has been confirmed to take place in 2024 in Los Angeles with the participation of Xbox, Capcom, Annapurna Interactive and several other publishers.
