E3 2022 has been cancelled.

 

This year, there will be no E3. Will Powers, PR for gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer, said in a tweet that he received an email stating that the digital event had been cancelled. IGN broke the news first, claiming to have seen the email confirming E3's cancellation on their own.

Just got an email... It's official, E3 digital is official cancelled for 2022. Lots of mixed feelings about this...

— Will Powers 🛫 NYC (@WillJPowers) March 31, 2022

This year's video game trade expo and marketing event was supposed to take place in person. However, due to the pandemic, E3 was again switched from an in-person event to an online-only display in January. The digital event appears to have been fully cancelled at this time.

For the past few years, there has been growing concern regarding E3's future. The COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting in-person gatherings, making the notion of a huge, well-attended event unappealing. After attending the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week, a number of video game industry individuals reported testing positive for COVID-19. Aside from the threat of a pandemic, video game publishers have increasingly shied away from E3 in favour of staging their own online events, such as Nintendo's Direct, EA Play Live, and Sony's State of Play.

As the news of E3's cancellation spread, Geoff Keighley, the consummate video game promoter, neatly stepped in to announce that his Summer Game Fest is set for June this year.

Excited to share that @SummerGameFest will return this June with a slate of events. We'll be producing another Kickoff Live show with announcements, news and first looks.

Much more to share in the coming weeks, along with some very cool new elements for '22. pic.twitter.com/jjXLG8Xueh

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) March 31, 2022

"E3 will return in 2023 with a revived display that honours new and exciting video games and industry advancements," the ESA claimed in a tweet from Axios' Stephen Totilo, while not having an E3 at all bodes ill for the show's continued health. E3 2023 is expected to take place both online and in person.