The reports of E3's return to relevance have been greatly exaggerated. The once revered in-person gathering of publishers and developers had geared itself up for a grand refurbishing of its presentation for Los Angeles this year. Speculation was mildly piqued when it was announced that PAX organizer Reedpop would be running the event. 

However, this will no longer be the case, as the Electronic Entertainment Expo will be shuttering its doors for the third year in a row. Unlike previous years, where the Covid-19 pandemic prevented, E3 2023 has been canned due to a lack of interest. With Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, and publishers like UbiSoft and Konami backing out of the showing, it seemed like a lost cause for general appeal when your heavy hitters don't want to show.

“This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what’s right for the industry and what’s right for E3,” spoke Reedpop's global VP of gaming Kyle Marsden-Kish in a statement. “We appreciate and understand that interested companies wouldn’t have playable demos ready and that resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they couldn’t overcome. For those who did commit to E3 2023, we’re sorry we can’t put on the showcase you deserve and that you’ve come to expect from ReedPop’s event experiences.”

(Keanu Reeves on stage at E3 2019, as of this writing, the last in-person event)

Speaking with GamesIndustryBiz, ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis brought up the grand hurdles the showrunner faced in a changing environment. "We were off to a strong start. There was interest among exhibitors, industry players, media and certainly the fans. Ultimately, however, there were challenges that proved too large to surmount."

It's been spoken about before here on Game Fix, even if E3 finds what they need to remain a must-see venue besides the novelty of returning to an in-person event, there's a strong chance that it's too little, too late. We'll be here to speak on it as time rolls by.

 SOURCES: GamesIndustry.biz, Polygon (Kyle Marsden-Fisk statement)