E3 2023 canceled: Once the most important games fair in the world will not take place

In June of each year, E3 in Los Angeles was the most important games trade show in the world until 2019. E3 2023 was supposed to mark the big comeback after the Corona pandemic, but nothing will come of it. As the responsible ones via Twitter communicated, the E3 2023 was canceled.

E3 2023 canceled: The end for the game fair?

Long before the Games Convention and its successor, gamescom, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (abbreviated to “E3”) in the USA marked the most important games fair and gaming event in the world.

In June 2023, E3 2023 should finally have taken place again, after a forced break from Corona. But nothing will come of it. After many big names, including studios like Sony or Nintendo, canceled their participation for this year, those responsible decided without further ado to cancel the trade show completely.

In the process, many fans and visitors note that E3 hasn’t been what it used to be for years. Over the years, more and more companies stayed away from the show and held their own events in parallel, which diminished the importance of E3.

Geoff Keighley, host of the gamescom Opening Night and Game Awards in December, has also been organizing the Summer Game Fest in parallel for years – and this year is no exception. From June 08 to June 13, 2023, we can once again expect many world premieres from renowned manufacturers.

E3 2023 cancellation: are gaming fairs facing the end?

So E3 2023 has been canceled, but what is the situation in general? Are gaming trade shows (on-site) simply not relevant these days? Gamescom 2022 also had to contend with many cancellations when it made its comeback on site in Cologne last year – from Caseking to Nintendo.

Visitor numbers also fell well short of those before the COVID19 panemic. For gamescom 2023, however, things are looking rosier again, as those responsible announced in mid-March 2023:

Accordingly, there had already been 10 percent more registrations than in the previous year, which indicates a growing interest in the games fair. Names one did not announce so far however yet. So it’s unclear whether the big companies and publishers will embrace gamescom 2023 or whether they will also rely on their own or digital events.