In one of the most stunning turns of events, the Electronic Entertainment Expo; E, won’t return for 2023. E3 hasn’t held an in-person event since the pandemic. E3 was supposed to be, ‘full speed ahead’, as recently as February. Nintendo, Microsoft, and UbiSoft have all stated they won’t be participating this year and that simply took any remaining wind out of the sails.

The event was a fixture for the gaming community and gave video game producers a chance to flex new techniques and technologies for their platforms and titles. This year’s June event was on until no major companies had titles to show.

Who’s to Blame?

You can blame many factors. COVID for one. Followed by a string of successful virtual attendee events. This year, a perfect storm of no titles, COVID still around, and consolidation killed this year’s E3.

Since the pandemic, Microsoft and others went on a buying spree funded by Wall Street to consolidate their holdings in the game arena. Consolidation led to frequent, big budget game and platform announcements featuring a single company’s offerings eliminating joint announcements.

Now, companies aren’t incentivized to release in predictable cycles and can airdrop titles on their own platforms.

Microsoft’s annual Xbox Showcase, Summer Game Fest, and UbiSoft’s Forward Live are all scheduled for June. When E3 was supposed to be held.

In-person events are still weird. Sick days and reports of feeling ill are regular episodes after conferences and conventions now. Travel sucks. And companies are nickel-and-diming many of the perks that come with conventions.

I’m hoping E3 makes a return. If it doesn’t, we may have seen the end of the big event.