E3's big revival scheduled for 2023 has been canceled.

E3 was once the premier showcase event for the video game industry, but was brought down by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. That led major publishers to hold their own online events instead, which actually worked quite well, but has led to serious questions about E3's relevance (opens in new tab) in the streaming age.

These questions were compounded when major publishers decided not to participate in this year's event. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (open in new tab) all announced in January that they would not participate, and Ubisoft, which had previously announced its participation, withdrew earlier this week (open in new tab).

E3 2023 was organized by ReedPop, which also runs PAX and New York Comic Con. Just last month, ReedPop president Lance Fensterman said (open in new tab) that E3 2023 was "going full speed ahead." Not anymore.

ESA confirmed the cancellation of E3 2023, first reported by IGN (opens in new tab), in an email sent to PC Gamer.

"This was a difficult decision because we and our partners have worked very hard to make this event happen, but we had to do what was right for the industry and what was right for E3," Kyle Marsden-, ReedPop's global VP of gaming. Kyle Marsden-Kish, ReedPop's Global VP of Gaming, stated. We understand that interested companies did not have playable demos ready or that resource issues were an insurmountable obstacle to attending E3 this summer."

"For those who have committed to E3 2023, we look forward to the LeadPop event experience and are sorry that we will not be able to host the showcase that they deserve.

However, the organizers have not shied away from the possibility of reviving E3 in some form: leadpop and ESA said they will "continue to work together for future E3 events."

With the cancellation of the scheduled 2023 event, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest on June 8 (open in new tab) will dominate this season's game show, and Keighley Twitter to pay tribute to E3's long history, but also said that the show "has not evolved as much as it needs to in order to compete in a global, digital world." His event, he said, is "the next one."

However, the Summer Game Fest is not the only show: our own PC Gaming Show (opens in new tab) and sister event Future Games Show (opens in new tab) will also take place in mid-June. Dates and other details will be announced soon.