Ubisoft no longer attending E3 2023, now holding separate showcase in June

What you need to know

• E3 2023 is currently scheduled to be held in June 2023, with the show returning in a physical format after being absent since 2019. 
• One of the biggest gaming publishers offically signed on for the show was Ubisoft. 
• Ubisoft has now pulled out of E3 2023, and will be holding a distinct Ubisoft Forward showcase on June 12, 2023.

If you were looking forward to E3 returning in a big way this year, it’s a good idea to start tempering expectations. 

One of the largest publishers signed on to have a presence at E3 2023 was Ubisoft, Now, in a statement to VGC, Ubisoft confirms it is pulling out of E3 2023, and will instead be holding a separate Ubisoft Forward showcase on June 12, 2023.

“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.”

This news comes as E3 has struggled over the last few years, being canceled entirely in 2020 and 2022, with the 2021 show taking place in an extremely limited fashion with a series of online events. Most major publishers have broken off to host their own events, and it looks like that’ll be the same this year. 

Ubisoft has a large slate of games to show that currently lack release dates, including Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and the oft-delayed Skull and Bones.

Microsoft confirmed that it will be holding a dedicated Xbox showcase on June 11, 2023. The same day, Microsoft will be holding a Developer_Direct presentation from Bethesda Game Studios on the upcoming science-fiction role-playing game Starfield.

While there’s no details as-yet, Summer Game Fest is slated to return in 2023, hosted by Geoff Keighley, host of the Game Awards and Opening Night Live at Gamescom.

Windows Central’s take

This is not shocking at all. E3 is continually having difficulties in seeming organized and structured, as well as finding huge problems in getting business partners when gaming companies can just show their content with their own online show or as part of something like Summer Game Fest. I won’t be too surprised if E3 2023 ends up canceled outright.