The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) isn’t dead. In fact, it’ll be back next year, according to the latest word from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). E3 2023 will be the first in-person show held since 2019. E3 2023 will return on June 13 to 16, 2023. This new schedule puts just under nine months from now to the planned date. Prior to the disruptions of 2019 and beyond, E3 was one of the world’s largest video game industry events. Alongside events like Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show (which both returned to in-person hosting in 2022), E3 was a major avenue for announcements from the industry’s biggest presences [Thanks, VentureBeat!].
E3 2020 was cancelled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Those same concerns caused it to go fully online for E3 2021. The ESA cited COVID-19 concerns again when it cancelled both the digital and physical E3 2022 shows, but some commentators suggested that the decision was made some time before.
Next year year, event organizing will be handled by ReedPop, the company behind such events as PAX, EGX, the New York Comic-Con, and Star Wars Celebration. ReedPop also owns games media sites like Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, and Rock Paper Shotgun. In a statement, ReedPop President Lance Fensterman said that it was a “tremendous honor and privilege” to bring E3 back in 2023, and committed to build a “world class event to serve the global gaming industry in new and broader ways.”
The E3 2023 schedule runs for four full days in mid-June next year. The first two days (June 13-15) are listed as Business Days, with floor time and scheduling reserved for press and industry personnel. June 15 and 16 are “Gamer Days”, open to the general public. The event will once again take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center. ReedPop plans to reopen Kentia Hall for business events, with Concourse Hall open during Gamer Days, with additional access to indie developers. The ESA, for its part, said it would “support and uplift” digital events and showcases, such as the publisher and platform-run online events that popped up over the last three years. These include the Summer Game Fest and similar livestream-based happenings.
E3 2023 returns on June 13-16, 2023.
