ESA says no final decision made yet
With the summer showcases winding down here, we’ve just had another summer without E3. And according to a new source, E3’s potential return still seems very, very shaky.
As spotted on ResetEra, the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board held a regular meeting discussing tourism for the city. Among the slides in this presentation was one about convention sales, with a note mentioning “E3 cancellations for 2024 & 2025.”
A previous report had indicated prospective dates for E3 2024 and 2025, but no actual dates or plans had been announced. In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz earlier this year, discussing the cancellation of E3 2023 and any future 2024 plans, ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis said the company was committed to “providing an industry platform for marketing and convening”, but did not have any news to share at the time.
An ESA spokesperson told Axios’ Stephen Totilo that E3 2024 is still to be determined. The quote, via Totilo: “ESA is currently in conversation with ESA members and other stakeholders about E3 2024 (and beyond), and no final decisions about the events have been made at this time.”
The future of E3
E3 2023’s cancelation was a notable one. As first reported by IGN, the Entertainment Software Association had partnered with PAX organizer ReedPop to revive the show, after several years without one. E3 had closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but failed to get back up and running as other in-person events returned.
In a statement at the time, ReedPop Global VP of Gaming Kyle Marsden-Kish attributed the decision to companies not providing playable demos, as well as resourcing challenges. Also added was that the ESA and ReedPop planned to collaborate to work on “future E3 events.”
Today’s news indicates that if E3 does return, it doesn’t seem like it will be in Los Angeles. Either way, it’s a blow to the giant’s potential return. Meanwhile, alternatives like Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest and the myriad of streaming showcases we just saw over the last few weeks seem to have established a new norm for the summertime gaming news bonanza.
