E3 is dead, long live E3!

E3, the legendary video game event, has been officially cancelled. The Entertainment Software Association has announced that it has pulled the plug on the E3 convention after more than 20 years of industry milestones and groundbreaking announcements!

GAME OVER: One of the highest-profile video game conventions is being shut down permanently, its organizers have announced. https://t.co/q4RgNSu88Y pic.twitter.com/5kPqfwbK0O

— ABC News (@ABC) December 13, 2023

Established in 1995, E3 quickly became the premier showcase for video game innovation and an important pilgrimage for video game enthusiasts and industry giants alike.

In particular, E3 has seen the launch of some of the most important consoles in the world of video games, such as the debut of the Nintendo 64 in 1996 and the brilliant introduction of 3D gaming, the PlayStation 4 in 2013 offering a new era of gaming, and the Xbox Series X in 2019, promising unrivalled power.

Great video games have also been unveiled here, including Final Fantasy VII in 1997, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998, Super Mario 64 in 1996, Halo: Combat Evolved in 2000, World of Warcraft in 2001, Half-Life 2 in 2003, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in 2010, The Last of Us in 2012, Cyberpunk 2077 in 2018, and Elden Ring in 2021.

The changing dynamics of the industry and new ways of reaching the public are said to be among the reasons why E3 organizers have chosen to put an end to these major gatherings. Several major events of this type have also been forced to go digital, a trend that was emerging even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

pic.twitter.com/y6dtVkBvNI

— E3 (@E3) December 12, 2023

In recent years, several major companies had also withdrawn from the convention, including Sony.

While other companies like Blizzard Entertainment managed to resume their popular BlizzCon convention in person this autumn, after going virtual during the pandemic, E3 was not so lucky, after the mixed success of their all-virtual conference in 2021, when they had to cancel the 2020 one, and simply chose to give up.

The end of E3 certainly marks the end of an era in the video game industry.

E3 is dead, long live E3, thanks for the memories!