Gamers left in shock as world’s largest gaming event is axed

FOLLOWING years of uncertainty, the world’s largest gaming convention is now officially dead.

While the event hasn’t been seen since before the pandemic, the hosts were still claiming that the expo would make a return.

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E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, has long been the place where the biggest companies reveal their games.

2023 was the year that E3 was supposed to return to the stage, but was cancelled after a number of the show’s biggest gaming partners pulled out.

It was recently revealed that E3 will not be returning as the gaming public takes more interest in other types of events.

A statement from the event’s official website reads: “After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories.”

As reported by Washington Post, Stanley Pierre-Louis, the president of E3 organiser ESA said: “We know the entire industry, players and creators alike, have a lot of passion for E3. 

“We share that passion. We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners.”

The last in-person E3 event was held in 2019, and the next show was cancelled due to the pandemic.

However, the 2022 and 2023 events were cancelled due to a lack of interest from the major publishers who instead chose to do their own digital shows.

The first major publisher to pull out was famously PlayStation which has declined to take part in the event since 2018.

Other publishers have switched to doing online shows such as Nintendo Direct, or showing off their games at events such as The Game Awards.

It seems that E3 struggled to maintain partners for future events as more options were given for companies to reveal their games.

If you want to read more about the latest gaming reveals, check out all 71 games announced at The Game Awards 2023.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.