E3’s first in-person event in years won’t have the Big Three.

For the last several years, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, has been a strictly online affair as COVID-19 restrictions have prevented the usual in-person convention event held in years past. Following the complete cancellation of E3 2022, the Entertainment Software Association promised that the next E3 in 2023 would return to the in-person format. However, it seems that the convention will be missing its biggest contributors.

According to an IGN report, individuals allegedly familiar with E3’s procedures and the activities of major publishers have revealed that Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox are all planning on skipping the event in favor of holding their own online press conferences. If this is true, then this year’s E3 will be completely bereft of first-party video game publishers.

At the time of writing, Nintendo and PlayStation have not publicly confirmed the report. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer, however, did confirm last week that they will be opting for an independent presentation running around the same time as E3.

“E3 is just, to me, one of the seminal moments of gaming. I love the history of going down to LA, thousands of people there, getting to see great new things…getting to see people in the industry, the fan events that we’ve had. I definitely want that to continue,” Spencer informed IGN.

“Xbox is on the board of the ESA, and I think a successful and healthy ESA is critical to what we’re trying to go do. So we place our showcase, like we always have done, at a time where hopefully it’s convenient for press and even consumers that are going to the E3 event, and that’s what we’re trying to do now. We will continue to work with ESA in terms of their plans. As I said, we’re on the board, and we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to help make the E3 successful.”

E3 is still on for some time this summer as of writing.