This story was updated at 19:33 BST.
Ubisoft is no longer attending this year’s physical E3 event, VGC understands.
Last month, the Assassin’s Creed publisher became the first major company to publicly commit to attending the revamped E3, scheduled for June at its traditional venue, the Los Angeles Convention Center.
However, in a statement issued to VGC, the company said it has now decided to “go in a different direction” and will instead host its own Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in Los Angeles.
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“E3 has produced unforgettable moments across the industry over the years,” a spokesperson told VGC.
“While we originally intended to have an official E3 presence, we later made the decision to go in a different direction and will be holding a Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12th in Los Angeles. We look forward to sharing more details with our players soon.”
E3 organizer ReedPop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
E3 2023 — the flagship industry event’s first physical show in four years — is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13 and has been acquired by the Entertainment Software Association from ReedPop, the media and events company behind PAX, EGX and Star Wars Celebration .
Under the revised format, the first two days of E3 2023 (June 13-14) will be reserved exclusively for businesses, while the extended days will include consumer visitors.
However, Ubisoft’s decision to pull out of E3 2023 means that three months before the end, no major company has yet been announced as an official attendee.
The fact that the company previously committed to attending also raises serious questions about the lineup for the revamped show.
Ubisoft has been a staunch supporter of E3 in the past, and CEO Yves Guillemot had expressed support for the 2023 plans.
Nintendo and Xbox have already confirmed that they will be skipping this year’s event. However, the latter will be present in some form in LA during the same window.
In an update released earlier this month, E3’s new organizer ReedPop claimed that unnamed “AAA companies, in addition to indie darlings and tech and hardware companies” have committed to “return” to the LACC.
“The full list of exhibitors will be announced in advance of the show, giving participating companies the opportunity to make their own individual announcements in advance,” a statement said.
E3 2023 “Digital Week” begins on Sunday 11th June with external digital events such as The PC Gaming Show, Future Games Show, Guerrilla Collective and Black Voices in Gaming falling under this banner.
In addition to hosting high-profile events in the US and Europe, ReedPop is the owner of the Gamer Network, which powers sites such as Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, VG247, and Rock Paper Shotgun, and is a network partner of VGC.
