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A day after Ubisoft announced that they were not going to attend E3 2023 after all, comes word that neither Sega nor Tencent will be there either. This news was shared with IGN by "numerous individuals in publishing and PR who typically have knowledge of event strategies."
Many of these sources told IGN that they have not yet heard of anyone else who is planning to attend E3 2023. They also say that part of the reason may be due to the "significant lack of communication from the ESA and organizer ReedPop as to what exactly they should expect from the show."
Those same sources told IGN that at this same point in years past, they would have already had their plans firmly in place for E3.
But not so in 2023. Multiple people broached the question of E3 with us throughout the conference even before we asked, seemingly desperate for information that could help them make informed decisions about whether or not they should be allocating large budgets for a show floor booth and the personnel to staff it in just two months’ time. Many questioned whether they should skip the show itself but still make an appearance in town to meet off-site with media who might be around that week.
On the flip side, IGN says that their sources shared mixed to positive feelings towards Summer Game Fest Play Days, the event that Geoff Keighley kicked off a few years back and has made into an annual tradition ever since. Several sources told IGN that they have games ready to show and confirmed to be shown at Play Days. Other say that they expect more games to be present at this year's Play Days than there were at last year's event.
IGN did get some answers from a handful of publishers and studios about their E3 2023 plans. They say that while they reached out to the following companies, they did not respond in time for publication: EA, Square Enix, Embracer Group, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Take-Two, and Warner Bros. Games.
Those that did respond include Sega, Tencent, Bandai Namco, and Devolver Digital.
Both Sega and Tencent said that they are not going to attend E3 2023. Bandai Namco declined to comment about their E3 plans but did confirm they are attending Play Days. Devolver Digital offered a bit of a longer statement, which can be seen here.
While we always root for the success of any industry gathering that promotes great games, we have never officially attended E3 and do not plan to do so this year unfortunately. We will also confirm we will not be hosting satellite events this year in Los Angeles, but look forward to returning to our beloved parking lot to do so if the opportunity arises for a future LACC-based event. We are happy to report that we are well underway in the production of our annual Devolver Direct scheduled for June which we will share news about soon.
