Watch the Intel PC Gaming Show at E3 2017 right here

By Steven Petite Published June 9, 2017

Entering its third year as a major presentation at E3, one major question about the PC Gaming Show that we have is: Will it rein in its length? In both 2015 and 2016, the conference ran in excess of two hours, making it the longest major press conference in both years. That is not to say that the presentations were filled with duds. Last year, Cliff Bleszinski took the stage to talk Lawbreakers, New World Interactive announced its follow-up to Insurgency, a World War II shooter called Day of Infamy, and we saw a slew of virtual reality announcements for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, including the excellent Superhot. But much of the time in each of the first two years was given to games we already knew of and, in some cases, trailers and gameplay that we had already seen for those games. There is reason to believe that Intel’s show will turn things around this year, though.

How to watch

The Intel PC Gaming Show kicks off Monday at 10 a.m. (PT). It will be streamed on Twitch, but you can watch it right here with us in the window above.

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What to expect

While this conference is a little harder to predict than other major conferences, we know a few things that will be featured on stage. For starters, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer Bluehole Studio will have some news and announcements about its ridiculously popular survival game. Firaxis Games and 2K will be in attendance to announce a major new addition for XCOM 2, a game that we awarded a perfect score. Klei Entertainment will announce its follow-up to Oxygen Not Included, which entered Early Access earlier this year. Creative Assembly will discuss Total War: Warhammer 2. Also, look for Harebrained to talk about the status of its Kickstarter-backed BattleTech. Microsoft reps will also take the stage, presumably to discuss the Play Anywhere program.

Naturally, there will be more trailers, announcements, and looks at upcoming VR titles as well.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

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ESA denies E3 2024 and 2025 have been canceled, despite LA tourism board’s claims

There are conflicting reports over whether or not E3 2024 and E3 2025 will take place. A new document from the Los Angeles City Tourism Commission claims that both E3 2024 and E3 2025 have been canceled, but a spokesperson for the Entertainment Software Association claims no final decision has been made yet.

For over 20 years, the ESA held an event called E3 each June, where companies from around the video game industry would come together and show off their upcoming games. It got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the ESA took 2022 off after a rough digital-only show in 2021. The expo was set to return in 2023, but was canceled in March after Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and other game companies pulled out of the event. E3's future was put into question after that, and now it looks like it might not be coming back for the foreseeable future.

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With E3 2023 gone, other gaming events need to step up

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.

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E3 2023 has officially been canceled by the ESA and ReedPop

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.