Will E3 return in 2024? Even the organizers don’t know.

Promotion Cancellation Notice E3 2023 it’s still fresh but there has already been huge speculation as to whether the event could return in 2024.. And the only thing that is reliable so far is that even its organizers do not know about it; or at least they dare not make predictions about it.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.bizESA CEO, Stanley Pierre-Louishe cited the reasons that led to the cancellation of E3 2023. He talked about the various issues in the video game industry that have become too much of a hurdle to overcome.

He said developers can’t go back to their pre-pandemic roadmaps, companies still haven’t found the balance between virtual and in-person events, and global economic hardship has also hit the organization hard.

There is little or no self-criticism. There is even less certainty as to what will happen to the fair in the future. Is there any chance that after the cancellation of E3 2023, planning for the 2024 edition will start? Or was yesterday’s announcement the final nail in the coffin of a significant event? What really remains of the ESA director is the vagueness of his concepts.. Asked if E3 plans to return in 2024, he replied:

“We aim to provide an industry platform for marketing and meetings, but we want to make sure we strike the right balance to meet the needs of the industry. We will certainly be listening and making sure that what we have to offer meets those needs, at which point we will have more news to share.”

Many words to say nothing, of course.

Failure of E3 2023 and uncertainty about 2024

It is clear that the path that led to the cancellation of E3 2023 was a long one. Neither ESA nor ReedPop concluded that this event could not be done overnight.. Symptoms could be seen from afar. The absence of Nintendo, Xbox, Ubisoft, Sega and Tencent was also not the reason for the collapse of the fair, but confirmation that something was wrong.

To be fair to Stanley Pierre-Louis, it was counterintuitive that hours after this year’s E3 was cancelled, it would come out to confirm or not a 2024 implementation. However, it was not expected that all of his speech throughout the above interview was so lazy. As if this year’s blow really was a knockout.

Actually, the tone of their answers was the same before the two key questions. First, about whether Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo are necessary for the success of E3. To which he replied:

“E3 will evolve to meet the needs of companies seeking to market on this global platform. This means it will mimic how people interact with E3. We want to meet the needs of players who see this as an important platform that will evolve over time.”

Second, if he believed that if E3 were to return, it would be without the glamor of the past:

“ESA has been protecting the industry in the US for almost 30 years. E3 has been around for most of that time. This is an important product that we offer to the industry. This is definitely one of the things we bring to the industry, including important promotional work, but we really look forward to bringing the industry together to showcase the amazing innovation and creative work we’ve created.

This will remain strong with the ESA ensuring that we continue to provide these opportunities. We would certainly like to see E3 continue to be a part of this, but we know that we will continue to fulfill our day to day roles in driving the industry forward.”

two statements Looks like they came from a press release and not from the lips of the Director General of ESA. Which raises even more concerns about the possibility of seeing E3 in 2024, regardless of the details about its format.

When E3 2022 was cancelled, the ESA was quick to say it plans to return in full force in 2023, both virtually and in person. Today there is no such conviction on the part of the organizers.. Perhaps also because the video game trade press itself seems to have matured to the point that if the conference doesn’t return this year, it may never return.

It remains to be seen if there will be any reaction from the ESA and ReedPop in the coming months. E3 in 2024 still completely excludedbut hopes for its implementation today are less than ever.