The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, is returning as an in-person event for the first time since 2019 this summer, but it’ll apparently do so without support from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. The companies behind PlayStation, Xbox and Switch are skipping the event and won’t have a presence on the showfloor, IGN reported Monday, citing multiple unnamed sources.
Both Nintendo and Sony pulled back from the show in years past, with neither holding dedicated press conferences any more — Nintendo stopped after the 2012 show (opting to hold digital only Nintendo Directs instead) and the last PlayStation one was in 2018.
It seems that Microsoft will hold its own Xbox showcase event in LA this summer as well.
E3 2023 is scheduled for June 13-16, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It’ll be run by new organizer ReedPop, which is also responsible for PAX, Star Wars Celebration and New York Comic Con.
The gaming convention was canceled in 2020 and held as a digital event in 2021 due to the pandemic. It was meant to return in 2022, but ultimately got canceled so ESA could focus on the 2023 event.
Neither ReedPop, Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo responded to requests for comment.
