E3 2024 & 2025 are Cancelled, Los Angeles Tourism Board Confirms
Update: According to a statement given to Axios reporter Stephen Totilo, an ESA spokesperson clarified the fate of E3 2024 and beyond.
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.”
ESA Spokesperson
Original Story
In a recent meeting held by the Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners on June 21st, 2023, significant updates were shared regarding the city’s tourism businesses. Among the updates, a single line confirmed the cancellation of E3 2024 and 2025, as spotted by a ResetEra user.
A page titled ‘Citywide Convention Sales’ in the meeting document, referring to the projected performance and actual outcomes of convention sales activities in Los Angeles during the current fiscal year (FY) 2022-2023, also included a single line at the bottom right corner of the page stating, “Includes E3 cancellations for 2024 & 2025,” which sparked a debate on the internet about the future of E3 and whether the largest games expo in the world is dead.
The cancellation of E3 2023 was officially announced on March 30th, 2023. After the major gaming publishers such as Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Tencent, and SEGA revealed their decision to skip the event this year.
At the time, Stanley Pierre-Louis, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the organization responsible for organizing E3, expressed optimism about the future of the expo. He stated,
We’re committed to providing an industry platform for marketing and convening, but we want to make sure we find the right balance that meets the needs of the industry. We’re certainly going to be listening and ensuring whatever we want to offer meets those needs, and at that time, we will have more news to share.”
Stanley Pierre-Louis via Gamesindustry.biz
Even with the absence of E3 2023, which is widely regarded as the biggest gaming event of the year, the summer season became packed with showcases from major gaming publishers.
Events like Nintendo Direct, Xbox Games Showcase, PlayStation Showcase, Ubisoft Forward, and Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest emerged as prominent alternatives, offering gamers a plethora of exciting announcements and updates.
ESA has yet to confirm this news. After the official statement from the company that is responsible for organizing the event, the future of E3 will be much clearer. We will update you as soon as there is a significant update in this story. Until then, let us know what you think about this news.
Do you support an event like E3 where all the gaming studios share the same stage to reveal their upcoming games, or are you in favor of the format that was implemented this year with every major gaming publisher organizing their own independent showcase? Let us know in the comments section below.
