E3’s organizer says that its show isn’t dead yet

At least four major video game publishers have dropped out of the show floor for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the giant gaming extravaganza held each year in Los Angeles in June. This likely forces the Entertainment Software Association, the trade group that organizes E3, to do some soul-searching about how to make E3 booths attractive for the remaining 200 or so exhibitors.

The $99.3 billion game industry (as market research Newzoo estimates) is stronger than ever, but a lot of people are wondering what’s happening on the inside if so many E3 stalwarts are changing their plans.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.