In a sad move that many of us saw coming, E3, one of the most iconic video game-centric shows, is officially dead. Unfortunately, many gamers saw this coming, as the company canceled numerous shows and has effectively been replaced by Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest.
The official E3 Twitter account confirmed the tragic news, thanking fans and developers alike for all these fun gaming memories. Even if the writing was on the wall, many players are bummed by the news and are thankful for all of the memories made through this show.
“After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye,” said the tweet. “Thanks for the memories.”
While many fans assume that the show’s decline was due to the pandemic, it’s been going a bit longer. Due to the amount of gaming-centric shows that popped up in recent years, E3 was slowly losing relevance. Even when the world started getting better, E3 still wasn’t able to host any shows before they announced the cancellation.
One of the major blows that hurt E3 badly was when PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox would constantly ditch these shows. PlayStation and Nintendo were the first to decline, with Xbox taking the opportunity to get some spotlight before eventually abandoning the show as well.
All three brands played a major part in gamers’ E3 memories, with everyone remembering the epic 2016 show Sony had. This showcase was filled with constant game releases, from God of War 2018 to Resident Evil 7 and Marvel’s Spider-Man. In the end, Sony couldn’t top their 2016 show and has since stuck with online shows, similar to the Nintendo Directs.
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Now that E3 is gone, it looks like Geoff Keighley will become the face for major game premieres, with Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards dominating this. It’s a shame that this year’s Game Awards weren’t very good, but there’s always room for improvement next year.