E3 officially dead after more than two decades

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), once held every summer as the games industry’s biggest convention, is officially dead, the Entertainment Software Association confirmed.

“We know the entire industry, players and creators alike, have a lot of passion for E3,” said Entertainment Software Association president Stanley Pierre-Louis told The Washington Post. “We share that passion. We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners.”

The Electronic Entertainment Expo website now features a single page with the goodbye message: “After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories.”

The Electronic Entertainment Expo’s decline began in 2018, when Sony Interactive Entertainment decided to pull out of the event, which started a domino effect of other exhibitors no longer attending. In 2020, longtime collaborator and journalist Geoff Keighley announced that he would no longer be working with the show, and has since created his own separate event with Summer Game Fest.

The final in-person Electronic Entertainment Expo was held in 2019, which allowed attendance by the general public. While there were plans for a 2020 event, it was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. A digital-only event was held in 2021. And while a digital-only event was planned for 2022, that too was canceled. A revamped event was planned for 2023, but that was canceled.