Can E3 Survive Without Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft? We May Find Out This Year

Anyone planning to attend E3 on June 13 will be disappointed to learn that none of the first-party console manufacturers look like they will have a presence at the expo.

As IGN reports(Opens in a new window), Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all expected to give the first physical E3 event in four years a miss. That’s based on “multiple knowledgeable sources,” but all there companies have yet to officially confirm their decision not to attend.

If true, it would mean E3 2023(Opens in a new window) at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be relying on a strong showing from the big third-party publishers, and the organizers may need to make the event more enticing for smaller publishers and developers to spend some money and make the trip.

Microsoft is planning to have its yearly Xbox Showcase in Los Angeles(Opens in a new window) this summer, but the dates haven’t been confirmed yet and a smaller event independent from E3 may be on the cards in light of recent job cuts across Microsoft. Nintendo typically has a booth at E3, but this year we may just get a Nintendo Direct streamed presentation instead. And Sony? It stopped attending E3 in 2019.

The future of E3 could now be defined by how the organizers react and adjust the format if the console manufacturers ignore it. If they can still pull off a good show that generates a lot of buzz, the big three may decide to turn up in 2024.