The big show’s back in town
E3 is set to return as an in-person event in 2023, and today the event locked in some dates and details. E3 2023 will be a four-day expo, running June 13 through 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Preceding the show will be partnered digital events and showcases. Those will start on June 11.
E3 itself will have set days for business and consumer attendance. The E3 Business Days take place June 13 through 15, set aside for registered industry people. June 15 and 16, meanwhile, will be E3 Gamer Days.
Alongside the split in days, E3 2023 will also have separate areas set up. The industry side will have dedicated halls for networking and meetings, as well as hands-on for media with developers and publishers.
The consumer-focused area will be in a different hall. This will have hands-on for attendees, as well as ways to connect with developers, content creators, and personalities. There will also be a dedicated theater for content, offering deep dives on upcoming games.
It’s showtime
The ESA is partnering with ReedPop, the organizer of events like PAX, EGX, and New York Comic-Con. (Disclosure: I was once employed by ReedPop in my previous role at USgamer.)
In a blog over at GamesIndustry.biz, the business site goes over some extra details on what ReedPop and E3 are planning for the show. The show plans to support companies and games who aren’t joining officially to still participate. For example, if a company is showcasing at Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, E3 will still be open to it.
This is E3’s first return to in-person, after canceling its 2020 and 2022 plans and hosting an online-only event in 2021. It has been three years since the last big E3, and the show looks to bounce back in 2023.
Whether this will hold up depends, as the industry has now adapted to three years of online showcases and scattered, smaller in-person events.
