Sega to skip E3 2023, casting doubt on whether the event will go ahead

Sega has joined a number of other game publishers in missing E3 this year, leading to the game industry questioning whether the Los Angeles convention will still go ahead.

As reported by IGN, Sega said that “after careful consideration, we have decided not to participate in E3 2023 as an exhibitor. We look forward to sharing more information on announced and unannounced projects in the future.”

IGN found that Tencent will also be skipping E3 2023, and claimed that more publishers will not be attending but are yet to make an announcement.

The news comes just days after Ubisoft confirmed it would not be attending E3, with the Assassin’s Creed developer deciding to “move in a different direction” and host its own live event in June.

Both companies join Xbox and Nintendo in skipping E3 2023, while it’s been reported that Sony will also miss the convention. Currently, the likes of Activision Blizzard, EA, Epic Games, and Take-Two are yet to announce whether they will attend the event.

As a result, the game industry has been left wondering if the event – E3’s first since 2021 – will still go ahead. Speaking to IGN, one source said “there’s no possible way this show can happen,” while organisers ESA and ReedPop are yet to comment on the slew of publishers skipping the event.

Last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot cast doubt on whether E3 2023 would happen. Speaking on an earnings call, Guillemot said “If E3 happens, we [Ubisoft] will be there and we will have a lot of things to show”. However, Ubisoft dropped out of the event less than a month after Guillemot’s comments were made.

Shortly after Guillemot’s statement, Reedpop president Lance Fensterman reiterated that E3 2023 was still “full speed ahead” — but it’s unclear if that is still the case.

In other news, the PC port of The Last Of Us Part 1 has been criticised for launching with performance and quality issues.