In December 2023, the Entertainment Software Association officially announced it would no longer hold its Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show. The event, better known as E3, brought to an end an era when nearly the entire video game industry came together in one location (usually the Los Angeles Convention Center) to show off upcoming games, make major announcements, and otherwise have a ton of fun.
However, it seems like the video game and entertainment media website IGN is making a bid to launch a new in-person event in LA that could take E3's place. In a press release today, the company announced IGN Live, which is scheduled to be a three-day event sometime in early June, around the time E3 was usually held.
The press release stated that IGN Live would include "a curated list of leading exhibitors across gaming and entertainment." It would consist of gaming tournaments and panels for upcoming games, movies, TV shows, and more. The event will also be live-streamed for people who cannot attend.
Aside from that, IGN has offered very little info on the details of IGN Live, including its exact location in downtown LA, the exact dates, prices for attending the event, and what companies will be exhibiting. The press release says that all of that info and more will be revealed "in the coming weeks." You can sign up to get more info at its official webpage.
The big question is can IGN make major publishers attend its new event. That was the reason why the ESA decided to ultimately cancel E3. After not holding a version of the trade show in LA from 2020-2022, the ESA said it would finally have an in-person event in June of 2023. However, after it was clear most of the major game publishers would not be attending, the ESA canceled E3 2023 and, several months after that, canceled the show altogether.
It remains to be seen if the major video game companies will take a chance on IGN Live this year. There's also the factor of Summer Game Fest, which has been held in the LA area over the last few years. That event, with its host Geoff Keighley, has snapped up reveals from a number of big game publishers for its live-streamed event. It's possible it could also compete with IGN Live to become the E3 replacement.
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