The last few years have been rough for E3. E3 2019 saw Sony skipping the event for the first time in its history, E3 2020 had to be cancelled because of COVID-19, E3 2021 was a less-than-stellar digital-only event, while E3 2022 ended up getting cancelled as well. The ESA has been talking about reinventing the event with its 2023 edition though, even having partnered with new production partner in ReedPop. Now, via GamesIndustry.biz – which is working alongside ReedPop for the show’s production – new details have emerged on E3 2023.
E3 2023 will mark the show’s return to the physical, in-person format. It has been set for June 13-June 16, and will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center over the course of those four days. That period, interestingly, will also be divided with separated business and consumer days and areas, which should hopefully mean better organization, and just less chaos in general (which has been a major issue with E3 in recent years).
The first two days of E3 2023 (June 13-14) will be business days only, where the entire convention center will be exclusively for business people to meet, arrange meetings and interviews, and more. June 15, meanwhile, will be a hybrid business and consumer day, where half of the convention center will be opened up to the general public. The final day, June 16, will be exclusively for consumers.
Meanwhile, E3 will also partner with other events and showcases happening around the time in different ways as well.
“E3 will officially partner with as many of these other events as will have it, and for free,” GamesIndustry’s Christopher Dring writes. “And even those who aren’t joining officially, it will still support the games and companies within those shows, too.
“E3 will do this through the editorial we mentioned earlier. The features, articles, insights and reports will cover everything going on that week, including before the show and afterwards. You could be showcasing at the PC Gamer Show or Summer Games Fest, and E3 and GI still want to hear from you and talk about what you’re doing. Attendees to these events can access this editorial for free, too.”
As per Dring, E3 2023 is being designed around three core objectives- to “make a better business event where it’s easier to connect, meet, and conduct interviews”; to “make a better consumer experience where there are things for fans to actually do”; and to “partner, support, and be friends with everyone announcing games in and around E3, irrespective of whether they’re actually in the convention center.”
Stay tuned for more details on E3 2023 and what to expect from it in the coming weeks and months.