E3 2023 was canceled back in March, and PAX organizer ReedPop was in charge of organizing the event, the first of a multi-year contract. However, E3’s overseer the ESA has announced this partnership will not continue.
According to GameIndustry.biz, the ESA and ReedPop have come to a mutual decision to part ways. On top of that, E3 2024, which is still planned to take place, will not be held at its traditional venue, the Los Angeles Convention Center. This had been previously reported by the city itself. There’s no word on where E3 will be held, but the site reports that the ESA is also looking to completely reinvent the show in 2025.
“We appreciate ReedPop’s partnership over the past 14 months and support their ongoing efforts to bring industry and fans together through their various events,” said ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis in a statement to GameIndustry.biz. “While the reach of E3 remains unmatched in our industry, we are continuing to explore how we can evolve it to best serve the video game industry and are evaluating every aspect of the event, from format to location. We are committed to our role as a convenor for the industry and look forward to sharing news about E3 in the coming months.”
ReedPop had been tasked with revamping this year’s ill-fated E3 after the show had collapsed over the last few years due to the pandemic and waning interest from publishers/developers. The 2023 edition fell through after Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft declined to attend alongside publishers such as Ubisoft and Sega. The last in-person E3 was in 2019, and outside of the online-only 2021 event, every subsequent E3 has been completely canceled. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest has filled the void since then.
[Source: GameIndustry.biz]
