E3 2023, the longest-running video game trade show in the industry, was officially cancelled and will not be held in physical or digital form, according to an announcement from the Entertainment Software Association.

E3 2023 was supposed to be the first physical edition of the event since 2019, when it had to be canceled – like other major trade shows – due to the COVID pandemic. This year’s edition was supposed to be the “big” return, taking place June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

In the end, however, it was completely cancelled. And the truth is, it was once expected that the big three in the gaming industry, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, They have announced that they will not be attending this year.. They were followed by other producers and developers (Sega, Tencent, Devolver Digital…) with disinterest that eventually recommended their suspension.

The Entertainment Software Association notified its partners via email and finally made the announcement on his official Twitter account: “simply [el evento] it has not garnered the sustained interest needed to be implemented in a way that demonstrates the size, strength and impact of our industry.”.

It is not known whether the suspension of this edition will affect those of the coming years, as even before COVID there was a certain lack of strength in what was for many years a major gaming event on the world calendar. And it’s a shame, because E3 has been a benchmark for the video game industry for decades. Actually, its first edition dates from 1995 and for example, it was the fair that Sony chose to introduce the first PlayStation console.

Goodbye E3 and no more presentations as a replacement. Video games continue to rise as the world’s leading entertainment industry, with Microsoft’s event scheduled for June 11 and another for Ubisoft on June 12. In addition, the up-and-coming event, Summer Games Fest, will be held in Los Angeles, where very important games were announced last year, and will be broadcast live to the world on June 8.