Ubisoft is reportedly skipping E3 this year, according to a statement from the company relayed by VideoGamesChronicle. Instead, the company will host a Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in Los Angeles.
“While we initially intended to have an official E3 presence, we’ve made the subsequent decision to move in a different direction, and will be holding a Ubisoft Forward Live event on 12th June in Los Angeles. We look forward to sharing more details with our players very soon,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told VGC, and E3 organizer ReedPop has yet to comment on the situation.
Earlier this month, ReedPop mentioned that unnamed ‘AAA companies, in addition to indie darlings and tech and hardware companies’ were committed to returning to E3, and Ubisoft was the only publisher to confirm its presence, telling Gameindustry.biz last month that it had a strong lineup for the June show.
Now it is unknown who will be attending, especially when Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have reportedly been confirmed by IGN to be skipping the annual gaming celebration.
The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has previously commented on IGN’s claim, saying that it is moving steadily toward E3’s return as a physical event after the pandemic years, and praising ReedPop for thinking about how E3 will fit into marketing plans not only for 2023, but also for next year and beyond.
Ubisoft will not be the only company to replace its E3 presence with a live direct, as Xbox will also host its own Showcase on June 11, as well as a dedicated Starfield direct on the same day to give fans the latest information on the upcoming exclusive game. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest will also kick off on June 9, just before E3 begins on June 13.
To date, Ubisoft is currently working on six Assassin’s Creed games (with three more reportedly in the works), and has other strong titles scheduled for release in 2023 and 2024, including Skull and Bones, Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora, and Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland. The company is also apparently gearing up to revive an unknown franchise around June, according to a reliable insider.
