E3 2024 and 2025 have been cancelled.
This is according to the City of Los Angeles Tourism Board, which notes on file meeting package (spotted before Reset) posted on Wednesday that a summary of the city’s planned conventions “includes E3 cancellations for 2024 and 2025.”
E3 was set to return for its first in-person show in four years this month. However, after months of buildup and uncertainty, the show was canceled in March.
At the time, E3’s new organizer, ReedPop, claimed that it “simply did not garner the sustained attention necessary to execute it in a way that showcases the size, strength, and influence of our industry.”
Revival plans likely include moving outside of Los Angeles, where E3 has been held for two decades, but other than that, the future of the gaming industry’s flagship event doesn’t look bright.
VGC has contacted E3 organizer ReedPop for clarification.
In the absence of E3, several smaller events have taken place in Los Angeles this month, including competitor producer Geoff Keighley Summer Game Fest, Ubisoft Forward, and Xbox Showcase.
Speaking to VGC last month, Keighley dismissed suggestions that competition from a rival event was partly responsible for the E3 2023 cancellation.
Keighley Summer Game Fest began in 2020 after splitting from E3, previously holding live Coliseum events. At the time, he indicated he was “uncomfortable” with organizer ESA’s plans for E3.
“I think the E3 group killed itself in a way,” Kelly said. “I understand why people say [SGF killed E3]but I think if anything, we built Summer Game Fest, and I built Summer Game Fest because I saw the wheels fall off the E3 wagon.
“As someone who loves that time of year…for two decades, E3 has been a part of my life since I was a 15-year-old kid. [From] The first E3 in 1995, I went to every show. I loved it and it defined my summer.”
He added, “It was very exciting for me, and it was sad to see it start to unravel. I think they had a problem with the subject matter, and then they had a problem with engagement over recent years.”
“Yeah, I think the question is, if we don’t do the Summer Games, what will happen? I think things would have kind of got really messy this summer.”
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