When it rains, it pours, and for the case of the return of the once-seminal event that is E3 2023, things are not looking good. While the gaming event is set to be back under new management this year following a long hiatus, not everyone is willing to play ball, it seems. The latest news is that Sega, Ubisoft, and Tencent are skipping E3 2023, following in the footsteps of other publishers.
This blow comes after Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox have seemingly done the same, leaving the future of a once-sacred touchstone in jeopardy. The uncertainty about the show has not helped things, with both media as well as industry professionals unclear on just what is going to happen if the show does go on.
The lack of clear communication from the organising company ReedPop as well as the ESA have contributed to the uneasiness, and when big industry players are not taking the plunge, the domino effect is that everyone else will hesitate to do so. At this point, it is perhaps time to ask the question if E3 2023 is happening at all.
Considering that these events take months and months of preparation for attendees and industry partners, having bad news still coming out in March is not a good sign for a show scheduled to happen in June. At the same time, there will be several concurrent events running throughout the traditional E3 week, just not at the main show itself.
An example is that of Geoff Keighley’s Play Days, a media-only event that is set to take place once again this year. Several titles have already been confirmed for this get-together, a stark contrast to what the plans for E3 2023 are. Even taking into consideration the COVID-19 effect, it is still a sad state of things.
For fans who have planned a visit and invested in air tickets and accommodation, we sincerely hope that the show will go on. Otherwise, a swift announcement needs to be made so we can all either move on, or be left to worry for the worst when June rolls by for E3 2023. It is a wild time.
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Si Jia
Yonk
