For the past three decades, the Electronic Entertainment Expo aka E3 has been the Mecca of the gaming world, but those days are long behind us. After several rocky years, E3 has officially been shut down, and its cancelation is a huge deal for the gaming world at large.
E3 was originally launched in 1995, and it grew into the world’s largest and most prestigious gaming expo in the years to come. Unfortunately, it became pretty clear that its glory days were long behind it even before its official cancelation, after the COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that the gaming convention of its scope is no longer a necessity in the modern world.
Entertainment Software Association officially announced its cancelation in a press release, saying they’ve decided to bring E3 to a close, but added they remain “focused on advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce who fuel positive cultural and economic impact every day.”
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancelation of E3 from 2020-2022, but this year has been a different story. The 2023 convention was put on hold due to a lack of “sustained interest”, making it clear that the modern gaming industry moved on from this concept. Geoff Keighley, the founder of the Game Awards, openly spoke against it, saying that online events are a better alternative to in-person ones, and launched his own Summer Game Fest in 2020.
