If the bad news continues, E3 2023 will become an exhibition of empty halls. Ubisoftone of the closest partners to ESA (owner of the fair), announced that will not attend the June event. Therefore, it joins the already long list of companies that have gotten off the boat in recent months —and years—.
Undoubtedly, Ubisoft’s departure from E3 2023 is a blow to the fair. Especially since the Gauls had expressed their commitment to continue supporting the organization with the aim of returning it to its glory days. The problem is that Ubisoft, perhaps, did not expect that Nintendo would also announce its goodbye. Without the big N, which was the last bastion of the event, there was little point in showing up.
Now, the fact that Ubisoft is absent from E3 2023 does not mean that it does not have announcements prepared for the summer. In fact, will hold a Ubisoft Forward, but “without the reflectors” of the California expo. His conference will take place on June 12 at a time yet to be determined.
“E3 has given us unforgettable industry moments over the years. While we initially intended to have an official presence at E3, we made the decision to move in a different direction and will be holding our own event, Ubisoft Forward Live, on June 12 in Los Angeles. We look forward to sharing more details with our players very soon,” a company representative told VGC.
Ubisoft is certainly going through one of the most difficult moments in its history. Due to the lack of a reference title in games as a service, they have not been able to generate recurring income like other companies. EA has Apex Legends; Activision relies on Warzone and Epic Games does the same with Fortnite. The French, however, have not been able to succeed in this sector despite multiple attempts.
“The company faces great challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-running titles that can reach gamers around the world, across platforms and business models,” they acknowledged.
Ubisoft’s hopes are focused, again, on the franchise Assassin’s Creed. They are currently working on a platform that will give access to various assassin games, starting with Assassin’s Creed Miragewhose launch is still planned for this year.
Therefore, the company does or does require a space to present this and other proposals that are on the way. It should not be forgotten that Massive Entertainment, the internal Ubisoft studio responsible for The DivisionIs developing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoraas well as a game of Star Wars. Without a doubt, both would be a boost to a Ubisoft catalog that, lately, has gone unnoticed.
Regarding E3 2023, its outlook is looking more and more complicated. PlayStation, Xbox/Besthesda, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Activision and now Ubisoft will not be present. How will they sell an event without the biggest companies in the industry? It’s all a mystery…