Video game expo E3 gets permanently canceled

By Associated Press

File - People watch a PlayStation VR demo at the 24th Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 on June 14, 2018 in Los Angeles. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, which had been held annually in Los Angeles since 1995, has been shut down permanently. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the highest-profile video game conventions is being shut down permanently, its organizers said Tuesday.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, had been held annually in Los Angeles since 1995 and was a popular spot for game companies to tease their latest creations before they hit store shelves.

The event hosted by a trade group, the Entertainment Software Association, had already been on hiatus since the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation in June 2020. But E3 was facing trouble before the pandemic, with a host of companies either skipping the fair or staging their own events nearby.

It held a virtual-only event in 2021 and planned a comeback this year that was canceled after reports that industry giants Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo would not attend.

“After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the U.S. and global video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3,” the ESA said Tuesday in an emailed statement. The group said its focus going forward will be to support member companies and the industry’s workforce.