E3 2022 has been completely cancelled, returning in 2023

Posted on April 1, 2022

E3 2022 has been officially cancelled in all forms, with no physical or digital event taking place this year. The news is somewhat surprising, with members of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) saying a digital event would be taking place as recently as a few months back. The cancellation of E3 2022 is reminiscent of 2020’s event, which was cancelled back in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021’s E3 went fully online, allowing the event to continue digitally and safely. Why this year’s event has been fully cancelled rather than remaining online-only is not yet known, however, it does appear like the ESA is planning to refocus their efforts for the return of E3 in 2023.

The news of the cancellation of E3 2022 first broke after a Tweet from PR Lead of Razor, Will Powers, who was sent an email about the event. That story has then been corroborated by many others, with the ESA reaching out to outlets such as IGN to share an official statement.

As IGN and other outlets have reported, the ESA is saying they will “devote all our energy and resources to delivering a revitalized physical and digital E3 experience next summer.” Alternatively, Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest which started back in 2020 will still go ahead this year, with a statement made on socials indicating a “slate of events” returning this June.

It’s a shame to see E3 cancelled again this year, but no doubt there’ll still be plenty of game announcements happening during that traditional E3 mid-year period.