Ubisoft E3 2023 Ubisoft Forward Announcements Publishers 1
Image: Push Square

And that may be the final nail in the coffin, folks! Ubisoft, one of the few remaining publishers that had shown interest in attending E3 2023, has officially pulled out. The French firm had committed to the convention earlier in the year, promising it had a big slate of software to show. But in a statement to VGC, it’s today said it’s decided to “move in a different direction”, and will instead host its own Ubisoft Forward livestream on 12th June, independently from the event.

“E3 has fostered unforgettable moments across the industry throughout the years,” a spokesperson said. “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.”

Reed Pop, the organisers of E3 2023, have yet to comment – but in a statement sent to us in mid-February, it said it would “have news to share in the next few weeks on some of the exciting new additions to the remastered E3 2023”. It’s obviously been over a month since then.

Sony famously pulled out of E3 several years ago, but Microsoft and Nintendo have also decided to give this year’s event a swing. That doesn’t mean the summer will be devoid of gaming news, however: Geoff Keighley’s very own Summer Game Fest is still scheduled to go ahead, and most major publishers and platform holders are plotting their own independent presentations in June.

[source videogameschronicle.com]