The Entertainment Software Association has said E3 2024 definitely will not take place at the show’s traditional home at the Los Angeles Convention Center, casting doubt on the future of the event.
While the ESA insists a 2024 E3 event may still take place, GI.biz reported the trade body is working on a “complete reinvention” of E3 for 2025.
Events company ReedPop, which operates PAX in the U.S. and EGX in the UK, partnered with the ESA on E3 2023 but the show never materialised. ReedPop has now walked away from the ESA in what was described as a “mutual decision”.
In June, the Los Angeles Tourism Board of Commissioners served notice E3 2024 and 2025 were cancelled. At the time, the ESA said no decision had been made.
Following IGN's report in March that E3 had officially been canceled, GI.biz published an interview with ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis in which he was asked about what went wrong with the show and whether or not the show would return in the future.
When asked what went wrong with the show this year, Pierre-Louis pointed to larger industry challenges that proved "too large to surmount”.
"First, several companies have reported that the timeline for game development has been altered since the start of the COVID pandemic. Second, economic headwinds have caused several companies to reassess how they invest in large marketing events. And third, companies are starting to experiment with how to find the right balance between in-person events and digital marketing opportunities."
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
