The Entertainment Software Association insists that E3 is not dead yet.

A ResetEra post shared snippets from the committee's most recent meeting that seem to confirm the death of the once-beloved gaming convention, with meeting materials dated June 12 stating that they "include E3 cancellations for 2024 and 2025." This does not explain the future of E3 beyond 2026, but it does put the final nail in the coffin. After all, everyone seems to be doing just fine without E3 this year and last year. Even before the pandemic, E3 was a volatile time, and now E3 is unlikely to make a grand comeback.

Apparently, an ESA spokesperson is trying to brush off the premature grief (or celebration): in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, the trade association said that it is "currently in discussions regarding E3 2024 (and beyond)" and that "at this time, no We have not made a final decision regarding the event at this time."

This is a rather vague response to an almost definitive footnote from the LA Convention and Visitors Bureau, but it could mean a lot for the future of E3. In my opinion, it is quite likely that next year will see the return of a digital version of the event, eliminating the need for a physical presence and the associated financial woes; it makes sense that ESA President and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis commented on the possibility of E3 2024 earlier this year.

"We are committed to providing the industry platform for marketing and convening, but we want to make sure we find the right balance that meets the needs of the industry," he told GamesIndustry.biz shortly after this year's E3 was canceled in March. " We are certainly going to listen and make sure that whatever we want to offer meets those needs, and at that point we will have more news to share."

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For now, a digital-only event seems like the most likely future for E3, but even if that happens, will people care that much? The reception to the online-only presence last year was tepid at best, and online editor Fraser Brown said he doesn't think E3 should return to an in-person event. He wrote last year, "While I am pleased that E3 is going digital again, I don't see it surviving in this form indefinitely."

For my part, I will very much miss the chaos and weirdness that E3 brought. There was certainly weirdness at this year's Summer Game Fest and beyond, from the bizarre Nick Cage appearance to the sea shanties: the disappearance of E3 is a great shame.