E3 is officially dead forever

Rest in peace, our sweet, malevolent prince

E3 is no more. After several false starts and reboots, gaming’s biggest showcase for its future projects has officially come to an end.

The word comes directly from the ESA, which revealed to the Washington Post that after trying to adapt to the shifting landscape it had essentially failed to keep the expo relevant.

After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3. ESA remains focused on advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce who fuel positive cultural and economic impact every day.…

— Entertainment Software Association (@theESA) December 12, 2023

Let’s take a step back: expos can work. Expos STILL work. Everywhere. And they’re getting bigger. Tokyo Game Show and Gamescom had record-setting years, Brazil and the Middle East are hosting booming shows, and the various PAXes have essentially returned in full force. But E3 couldn’t keep up. It isn’t that their excuse isn’t accurate, it’s that the event had essentially been run by old ideas and legacy thought processes for years, with no want for actual change.

E3 was great when it was great, and it was good enough the rest of the time.

Good night, and godspeed to the other thousand shows.

Source: Washington Post