Ubisoft is the latest big name to withdraw from this year’s E3. The publisher intends to run its own jamboree instead.
Once a key annual event in gaming, E3 is beginning to look as though it’s going to have a somewhat quiet 2023. Yesterday, Ubisoft announced in a statement issued to VGC that it’s no longer going to attend the Los Angeles-based expo.
Instead, the publishing giant plans to run its own event, Ubisoft Forward Live, which like E3 will take place in LA this June.
It’s the latest in a series of blows for E3 and its organiser ReedPop, with Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony already confirming that they won’t attend the event. Ubisoft’s decision to bow out is doubly surprising given that it had initially said it would attend the event a little over a month ago.
ReedPop took over as organiser last year, and intended E3 2023 to be something of a reboot for the expo after its four-year hiatus, largely brought about by the global pandemic. In July 2022, ReedPop’s Global VP of Gaming, Kyle Marsden-Kish, said in a press release that “E3 will be recognisably epic – a return to form that honours what always worked.”
With none of the major console manufacturers in attendance, and one of the biggest publishers on the planet – that’s Ubisoft – pulling out, the show doesn’t sound too epic so far. Indeed, while ReedPop said earlier in March that we could expect “triple-A companies, in addition to indie darlings and tech and hardware firms” to appear at the LA Convention Center this summer, we’ve yet so see a list of who will be in attendance.
One event that confirmed for E3 2023 is Summer Game Fest, once again hosted by Geoff Keighley. Beyond that, the guest list is currently looking rather vague.
E3 is scheduled to run from 13 to 16 June 2023 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ubisoft Live will take place on 12 June.
