Skip to main content

Here’s what E3 2023 could look like without Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft

Let’s start with the good news: E3 2023 will be held in its in-person format once again after three long years of digital events necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time with ReedPop at the helm. The bad news is that Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo — gaming’s “Big 3” — may not show up at the industry’s biggest convention this summer.

This is according to a report from IGN citing multiple sources, who claimed the companies won’t be a part of the show or make appearances on the floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center in any way. Their absence from this year’s E3, especially Nintendo’s, may come as a shock to the gaming community, but it’s not such a surprise when looking at the past few iterations of E3. Even before the pandemic locked everyone down in 2020, Sony and Xbox had been hosting their own E3-style livestreams, so it was more likely they would do it again this year anyway. Nintendo, on the other hand, managed to show off its upcoming games via Nintendo Direct streams and at its booth, console kiosks and all.

The report already has some fans writing eulogies for E3, but other gaming conventions have shown us that it’s entirely possible to run a massive trade show without the biggest players. E3 2023 might not be as much of a blowout as fans are used to, but there’s still room for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which runs the event, to deliver a show that can satisfy fans’ hunger for world premieres.

The Big 3’s independence from E3

Going back to E3’s very first shows, when it was exclusively a conference for developers and publishers, Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox always appeared at the event to promote their upcoming games and hardware. Nintendo was an especially important figure in the show due to its first-party exclusives and often revolutionary hardware. It also knew how to put on a proper show, weaving watercooler moments between its big trailers. Remember when then-Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aimé and then-Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata fought in the Mii announcement trailer for Super Smash Bros. Wii U at E3 2014?

Nintendo was a no-show at E3 in 2013, opting to host two exclusive events for press and distributors. It broadcasted a Nintendo Direct stream to announce new games around the duration of the conference instead of doing a live presentation. At the time, Iwata said those moves would help improve communication between the company and its fans. It was the first gaming company to pivot from live conferences to digital shows, though it did continue to have a show floor presence at E3 prior to the pandemic.

Playstation character wall at E3 2018
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Sony more decisively jumped ship in 2019 out of a need to “look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” as the company said in a statement to Game Informer. The company wouldn’t hold a traditional press conference at the 2019 show and it opted out of 2020’s show long before it was canceled. Instead, the company would opt to host State of Play streams to announce new PlayStation games and consoles on its own time rather than waiting for E3.

Xbox has held the closest relationship with E3 over the years, but even that bond has dissolved with time. While it self-hosted streams that were associated with E3 over the past few years, it didn’t have a booth at E3 in 2018 and 2019. However, it did host a live presentation at the Microsoft Theater in 2019.

The writing on the wall was clear even before E3’s pandemic years. The top players realized they had the power to message out their biggest announcements whenever they wanted rather than waiting for one week in June. If the reports are accurate and Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo won’t be in attendance this year, iy will simply be a logical conclusion based on the last decade of the show.

Now what?

Despite the ESA’s best efforts to revamp the show, E3 may look vastly different without Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo present — in-person and online. That’s left fans to question its relevance as the Super Bowl of the gaming industry. Despite anxieties that their absence could be the final nail in the coffin for E3, it’s entirely possible to run a big show without them by leaning on third-party AAA studios and indie studios to take the reins.

E3 2023 logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When Digital Trends attended Gamescom in August, Xbox was the only “Big 3” member on the show floor, but it had a relatively small booth compared to other publishers. Microsoft’s minimal involvement at the German gaming convention gave way to other big names like Sega, Bandai Namco, THQ Nordic, Ubisoft, and Embracer, who got to use the spotlight to highlight games like Sonic Frontiers, Metal: Hellsinger, One Piece Odyssey, and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. That was still more than enough to fill a massive convention hall.

You can expect E3 2023 to have a similar makeup if the Big 3 sit it out. The show floor will likely be dominated by publishers like Square Enix looking to market their holiday releases. The power vacuum will also allow rising AA publishers to step in and make a name for themselves. Embracer Group could capitalize on the event to establish itself as gaming’s new superpower, while Tencent could roll out the red carpet for its Level Infinite brand. Meanwhile, indie labels could stand to benefit the most here. Publishers like Thunderful Games had a notable presence at Gamescom and companies like that could stand out more at a less competitive E3.

Even if the Big 3 aren’t on the floor, that doesn’t mean E3 week will go by without them making a sound. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer says that while the company won’t have a booth at E3, it still supports the event, as it sits on ESA’s board. Xbox confirmed that it will host a physical showcase somewhere in Los Angeles” at a time where hopefully it’s convenient for press and consumers that are going to the E3 event.”

Don’t expect everyone to time something to that week, though. IGN’s report notes that Nintendo may skip the show because it doesn’t have enough games to show off aside from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is slated to come out this May. Though Nintendo traditionally hosts a summer Direct around the same time as E3, it might sit out this year due to the logistics of its release schedule.

Will other game companies and studios fill the void at the convention or will their absence dampen the show’s importance? Whatever this year’s show ends up looking like, it’s safe to say that the Big 3 don’t need E3 in the same manner E3 needs them.

Editors' Recommendations

Cristina Alexander
Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…
With E3 2023 gone, other gaming events need to step up
A purple E3 logo floats in the air.

Despite how inevitable the complete downfall of E3 felt over the past several years, E3 2023’s official cancellation still strings as it’s a significant loss for the game industry. For gamers, press, and developers, the show served multiple purposes that digital livestreams and scattered publisher-specific events don't currently replicate. In lieu of E3’s cancelation this year, and potentially forever, it’s time for other gaming events to step up and help push the video game industry forward.
Why we lost E3
I’m lucky enough to have the experience of attending three E3 shows across 2017, 2018, and 2019 and many publisher-run events focused on specific games or tighter game lineups. In its final years, E3 felt like the perfect middle ground to the gamer-focused PAX and industry-focused GDC, where people from all walks and sides of the video game industry could come together, see what’s coming in the future, and share their love for games.

It also felt more freeing than publisher-run events, as I discovered and experienced games of all sizes that I may not have otherwise and got to meet many people from every angle of the game industry. Apparently, the Entertainment Software Association struggled to convince enough people that this style of expo was important four years after the last physical event.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Entertainment Software Association president Stanley Pierre-Louis blamed E3 2023’s cancellation on the Covid-19 pandemic, “economic headwinds” due to the current recession that impacted marketing budgets, and the fact that “companies are starting to experiment with how to find the right balance between in-person events and digital marketing opportunities.”
The first two are understandable and have impacted a lot of physical events over the past couple of years. Still, the last reason speaks to a bit more worrying of a shift for those looking to network, get attention from the press, get a broader look at the industry’s future, or even pitch a game.
What we lose
Events are a great way for indies to get unexpected and much-needed attention from players and the press; look at the chance encounter that got one of our team’s freelancers hooked on Homeseek at PAX East. Now, indies will have to hope to gain attention at those more indie-focused events like PAX or be cherry-picked to be featured in a more prominent company’s showcasing. There’s also the networking and pitch factor to it.

Read more
E3 2023 has officially been canceled by the ESA and ReedPop
E3 logo

The Entertainment Software Association and ReedPop confirmed that E3 2023 has been canceled following a report that broke the news. E3 2023 was supposed to take place between June 13 and June 16.
Earlier today, IGN reported that two of its sources received an email from the Entertainment Software Association saying that this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo has been canceled because it "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry." Soon after, a tweet from the official E3 account confirmed that "both the digital and physical events for E3 2023 are canceled."
https://twitter.com/E3/status/1641546610218811393
E3 was once a prominent annual video game industry trade show but has struggled to re-emerge since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. E3 did not take place in 2020 or 2022, and a digital-only attempt at the show in 2021 did not live up to expectations. The ESA was attempting to bring the show back this year with the help of PAX organizer ReedPop, and even approved press passes for the event already, but it appears the developers and publishers have lost faith in E3. Ubisoft pulled out of the show earlier this week after initially committing to be there, while Sega, Bandai Namco Entertainment, and Level Infinite confirmed they wouldn't be there in the following days.
While E3 2023 is not happening, there are going to be many other things for people to look forward to. Geoff Keighley will host a Summer Game Fest show on June 8, Microsoft is holding a Starfield direct and larger showcase on June 11, while Ubisoft will have a Ubisoft Forward Live event in Los Angeles on June 12.

Read more
Ubisoft will not attend E3 2023, but it will still host a summer live stream
Basim showing off his hidden blade.

Ubisoft will no longer be attending E3 2023, even though it said it would participate in February. Instead, the game publisher behind Assassin's Creed and Far Cry plans to hold its own Ubisoft Forward Live event in Los Angeles this June.
Ubisoft confirmed its change in plans to Video Games Chronicle today, with a spokesperson saying that while Ubisoft "initially intended to have an official E3 presence, we've made the subsequent decision to move in a different direction." This is a change in messaging from just over a month ago when Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, "If E3 happens, we will be there, and we will have a lot of things to show."
What caused this change of heart in Ubisoft is unclear. However, it seems like the company found that it could still successfully promote its game lineup without being attached to the Entertainment Software Association's event. We don't know much about the Ubisoft Forward Live event other than it'll take place on June 12 in Los Angeles, but Ubisoft tells VGC that "we look forward to sharing more details with our players very soon."
This puts E3 2023 in a weird overall spot, as we currently know more about the companies that won't be at the event -- like Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Nintendo -- than we do about the publishers that will actually be there. After being canceled in 2020 and 2022 and being digital-only in 2021, E3 2023 was supposed to be the annual gaming trade show's grand return. Right now, though, the relevance and viability of E3 2023 are questionable.
ReedPop has not yet commented on the fact that Ubisoft is no longer attending E3 2023. 

Read more