Following the surprising cancellation of E3 2023 in March of this year, recent reports suggest that both E3 2024 and 2025 have also been cancelled. According to a report from the Los Angeles City Tourism Commission, there are no plans for E3 to return to Los Angeles in the years 2024 and 2025.
This revelation was found within a footnote accompanying a table outlining the predicted and actual number of hotel rooms booked for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. While the city’s document indicates the absence of E3 2024 at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, the Electronic Software Association (ESA) seems cautious about officially confirming the cancellation of the event. “ESA is currently in conversation with ESA members and other stakeholders about E3 2024 (and beyond),” the body said. “No final decisions have been made about the events at this time.”
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E3 2024 and 2025 Reportedly Cancelled: Is it Ever Coming Back?
The city does not appear to expect E3 to return in 2024 or 2025. This report seems to disagree with the messages from E3’s organisers, ReedPop and the ESA. The ESA, the trade organisation that runs E3, said earlier this year that it would join with ReedPop, the entertainment firm that operates huge fan conventions including New York Comic-Con and Penny Arcade Expo, to run E3 2023. Following the cancellation of in-person events between 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, 2023 was supposed to signal the return of the video game industry’s greatest event of the year.
However, E3 2023 was cancelled, with ReedPop global vice president of gaming Kyle Marsden-Kish explaining that the cause was due to publishers not having game demos or reels ready in time. However, if E3 2024 and 2025 are similarly cancelled, it signals that something else is keeping E3 from returning or that its organisers are considering moving it away from Los Angeles.
Despite the cancellation of E3, other events have stepped up to fill the void. Geoff Keighley hosted Summer Game Fest last week, which included an Xbox demonstration and a Starfield presentation. Sony staged its own PlayStation event earlier this month, showcasing gameplay for Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man 2. Nintendo and Ubisoft both made presentations, and Steam is currently hosting a week-long event.
ESA Says No Final Decision Has been Taken Yet Regarding E3 2024 and Beyond
Importantly, ESA, the organisation in charge of E3, has rejected such accusations, stating that no final decision has been made about these activities. However, what the ESA says and what happens are two wholly different things at this time. For months, the organisation denied that E3 2023 would be cancelled before abruptly cancelling the event in March of this year
E3 during and post COVID-19 pandemic
- 2020: Cancelled
- 2021: virtual event
- 2022: Cancelled
- 2023: Cancelled
- 2024: cancelled according to LA Tourism Board
- 2025: cancelled according to LA Tourism Board
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