After being canceled both physically and digitally in 2022, E3 seemed all but finished. Several months after this year’s cancellation was announced, the Entertainment Software Association stated that the event is far from dead, with plans to return with a physical show in the works for 2023. Now, we have confirmation on just how it plans to get back on its feet after the ESA announced a partnership with ReedPop, the company behind the PAX conventions.
In this collaboration, ReedPop is tasked with producing the first physical E3 in the past three years, which ESA President and CEO Stan Pierre-Louis believes is still a much-needed event. “We’re excited about coming back in 2023 with both a digital and an in-person event,” Pierre-Louis said in an interview with Washington Post. “As much as we love these digital events, and as much as they reach people and we want that global reach, we also know that there’s a really strong desire for people to convene — to be able to connect in person and see each other and talk about what makes games great.
“We are thrilled to bring back E3 as an in-person event with ReedPop, a global leader in producing pop culture events,” Pierre-Louis said in a statement. “The past three years have confirmed that E3 convenes our industry like no other event.” While no specific dates are announced for E3 2023 just yet, the ESA confirmed that media registration will begin in late 2022. The ESA also says exhibitors will be announced in the months to come. However, it isn’t certain that companies like Square Enix, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo will return as each of them has hosted their own showcases in recent years.