What you need to know
- E3 was an annual gaming event where developers and publishers across the industry gathered to show off new games, hardware, and more.
- E3 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic, while E3 2021 was a limited digital event. E3 2022 was also canceled, with the ESA opting to focus on 2023 instead.
- The ESA confirmed that it is partnering with ReedPop to bring E3 2023 to the traditional Los Angeles Convention Center in the second week of June 2023.
While E3 has been physically absent for three years (and absent entirely for two of those three) parent organization the ESA is looking ahead to 2023.
The ESA shared on Thursday that it is partnering with ReedPop to bring E3 2023 to the Los Angeles Convention Center in the second week of June 2023. Media registration is slated to begin at some point in late 2022.
"The past three years have confirmed that E3 convenes our industry like no other event," said ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis, speaking with Variety. The ESA notably canceled E3 2022 earlier in the year, choosing instead to focus on planning for next year's event.
Even as E3 has struggled to maintain its hold over the last couple of years, other gaming events have arisen, particularly in the form of Summer Game Fest. Held by Geoff Keighley, who also hosts Opening Night Live at Gamescom and the Game Awards, Summer Game Fest has expanded to encompass numerous digital events, as well as (for the first time) an in-person media gathering in 2022 called Play Days.
Shortly after the news of E3 2023 being held in-person was announced, Geoff Keighley reiterated on Twitter that Summer Game Fest would return in June 2023 with both digital and in-person events, and will be "bringing our entire industry together to showcase what's next."
