According to insider reports, E3 will happen without the "Big Three" this year, as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony won't be part of the trade show.
It doesn't look good for E3 this year. The legendary trade show will apparently miss out on Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox, according to insider reports via IGN. The "Big Three" will not be present at the huge trade show in Los Angeles, which is set to return as an in-person event in 2023.
E3 2023 Without Nintendo, Xbox & PlayStation
The report by Kat Bailey claims that the three giants of gaming will skip E3 2023. This claim is based on "multiple knowledgeable sources". We didn't hear any reasons for this decision yet. PlayStation not being at E3 wouldn't be a huge shock, as they missed the last two showcases. And Nintendo is weird and impossible to predict.
The article calls Xbox's decision a "surprise" though, given their strong presence at the show in the past and their commitment to bring a showcase to LA this summer – apparently outside E3.
Andy Robinson, editor at VGC, corroborated this report and added some details to this story via Twitter. According to him, Nintendo is most likely lacking major titles to show off and Microsoft is "in flux".
Meanwhile, Microsoft is in flux a bit. Even if a big public booth doesn't happen, it's confirmed a summer showcase - which was never held at the LACC - and at the last physical E3 it didn't have its booth there either. So there should be plenty of Xbox news that week regardless
— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) January 31, 2023
This is definitely a big blow for E3, and it could be another nail in the coffin for the legendary trade show. The big publishers are more often doing their own shows, like the recent Xbox Developer Direct, and are really successful with that approach, becoming independent of big trade shows like E3.
Will the event be around for much longer? Let us know in the comments what you think!