No E3 in 2024 or 2025 either
After a spontaneous Not-E3 2023 season due to the cancellation of the convention, it looks like we should be planning on similar events happening in 2024 and 2025 as well: According to the Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners, which held a meeting on June 21, 2023, to discuss the tourism business of the region, E3 has been canceled for both years.
Page 21 of the Commission Meeting Packet lists some numbers for important metrics such as booked room nights and explicitly contains a note that says: “Includes E3 cancellations for 2024 & 2025.”
E3 2023 was canceled after big publishers like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Ubisoft made public their decisions to skip the showfloor and hold their own digital showcases instead, which has become the norm throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and holds several advantages for the companies.
The two companies behind E3, ESA and ReedPop, noted at the time that they would continue their partnership and work on “future E3 events” together. It seems like that either won’t happen at all or at least not in the usual form – after all, this technically only confirms that E3 2024 and 2025 won’t take place at the usual location in Los Angeles. It’s possible that there will be a change of location or that E3 goes the digital route as well. For now, though, the future of E3 seems dire and a comeback of the show ever more unlikely.
Gamescom 2023 in Cologne, Germany, is going to be the next big video games convention you can look forward to. Nintendo has already confirmed its attendance. Geoff Keighley, who took the spotlight from E3 during the pandemic with his Summer Game Show, will once again be hosting Opening Night Live, a digital showcase highlighting brand-new announcements and games at the convention.
