After months of speculation and multiple companies confirming it would not be attending, the ESA announced today to its members that E3 2023 has been canceled.
Their press release doesn't even mention trying again next year. It's fuckin dead
The industry was designed around the fact getting information out to consumers was difficult and costly. The developers went to these shows to give new game info to dedicated games media sites, those sites showed that information alongside ads to make money.
Eventually in the mid 2010's developers found getting information to consumers was increasingly easy. They didn't need to run and maintain an entire dedicated website and attract viewers, all that functionality and existing userbase was already YouTube or Twitter.
So now they don't need to go to a trade show to get information out, and now games media sites can't get info by going to a trade show. It's why both E3 and dedicated games media sites are dead or dying, they became no longer useful for developers.
The industry was designed around the fact getting information out to consumers was difficult and costly. The developers went to these shows to give new game info to dedicated games media sites, those sites showed that information alongside ads to make money.
Eventually in the mid 2010's developers found getting information to consumers was increasingly easy. They didn't need to run and maintain an entire dedicated website and attract viewers, all that functionality and existing userbase was already YouTube or Twitter.
So now they don't need to go to a trade show to get information out, and now games media sites can't get info by going to a trade show. It's why both E3 and dedicated games media sites are dead or dying, they became no longer useful for developers.