- A report by the Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners revealed E3 will not be held in 2024 and 2025
- E3 2023 was already canceled this spring due to a lack of interest
- So far, officials from E3 have not spoken about the future of the popular gaming convention
E3 has struggled over the past few years due to management mistakes and the Covid pandemic, leading to a decrease in interest, resulting in the probable permanent cancellation of the event.
E3 Might Be Permanently Gone
It would not be a stretch to say that the Electronic Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as E3, has been a crucial part of the development of the video game field. Ever since its first iteration back in 1995, the yearly event has been the stage where multiple new videogame titles are being first showcased and experience between professionals and gamers alike has been exchanged.
However, it seems that all of this might come to an end, as the event might never return. A recent report by the Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners, spotted by video game reporter Wario 64 on Twitter, confirmed that E3 events will not be held in 2024 and 2025.
Although the official E3 representatives have not yet commented on the situation, it looks like E3 2021 might have been the last hosting of the event ever. “We expect E3 to continue to be a part of ESA’s storytelling and are currently in conversation with several stakeholders about what E3 2024 (and beyond) should look like to best serve the interactive entertainment industry,” an ESA note sent to video games journalist Stephen Totilo reads, meaning the fate of the convention still hangs in the balance.
E3 has often been hailed as the biggest event in gaming and during the almost three decades it has been hosted, it sure had some very prominent iterations. However, things have slowed down quite a bit in the past few years, notably starting in 2019, when the ESA unintentionally doxed thousands of attendees. Following the massive data leak, trust in the organizers fell drastically, playing a large part in that year’s low attendance.
The bad timing of that incident was further exacerbated by the fact that the Covid pandemic closed many events the following year. E3 held a few online events during the past few years, but fans criticized them for being little more than official streams showcasing game trailers.
All of this led to the 2023 iteration of E3 being canceled back in March of this year. The main reason for this decision, according to the organizers, was a lack of interest, as many video game companies had opted out of the event even before the announcement came out. This was supposed to be the convention’s first live hosting since 2019.
Although the organizers said the event should be back next year, with the news of the cancellation of the event in 2024 and 2025, interest in it will surely drop even more, spelling the end of the yearly gaming convention.
