E3 returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2023
(Picture: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for E3/Entertainment Software Association)The world’s biggest games show, E3, has announced it will return in 2023 after three years of disruption because of the pandemic.
The show was cancelled in 2020 and held online in 2021, while this year’s E3 was also cancelled completely because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The big question now is whether gamers and the big games companies are still excited about E3 or whether it’s an event that’s had its day?
When is E3 2023 happening?
E3 2023 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center next year, from June 13-16. The first two days are industry and press only, with the final two days open to the gaming public.
E3 was once an industry-only event, but the show was opened to the public in 2017, giving gamers a chance to get a first-hand look at new titles being launched by hundreds of different publishers, both large and small.
E3’s wow moments
E3 has been used for some memorable game and hardware announcements over the years.
In 2006, Microsoft’s Peter Moore lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal a Grand Theft Auto IV tattoo, confirming the franchise was coming to the Xbox a year later.
It was advantage Sony in 2013, however, when Sony revealed the PlayStation 4, eliciting huge cheers from the crowd when it announced it wouldn’t be imposing any of the heavy-handed restrictions to resell or activate games that Microsoft had previously announced for the Xbox One.
Massive games, such as Resident Evil 7, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Half-Life 2, were all showcased at E3 for the first time, making it the place to be for big-game announcements.
Can E3 recover?
The question gamers are asking now is whether E3 can rekindle the magic after three years on the sidelines? There are unlikely to be any massive hardware announcements at E3, with no new consoles expected from Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. The best gamers can hope for is a variant of the existing Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch models. Microsoft is rumoured to be working on a streaming device for its Xbox Cloud Gaming service, for example.
That means E3 organisers will be desperately pinning their hopes on major games announcements at the show. Grand Theft Auto 6 is the most highly anticipated new launch, especially after footage was leaked earlier this month. Could Rockstar use E3 2023 to give us the first official glimpse of the game or even announce a release date? Watch this space.
