Summary
- ESA introduces new industry-focused event “icon” as alternative to E3 aimed at professionals.
- “icon” scheduled for April 27-30, 2026 in Las Vegas, invite-only but boasting major companies.
- Summer Game Fest taking place in June is now premier gaming show after E3 retirement in 2023.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the entity behind E3, is back with another event, though this isn’t aimed to replace the spectacle of E3 but is aimed more at industry professionals.
The ESA calls this new event Interactive Innovation Conference or “icon” for short.
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Don’t mistake this as another stab at E3, as the ESA is pitching this as an “essential convening for change makers across industries,” and is focused more on those with a career in video games rather than bombastic booths, and megaton announcements.
It will be held at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas from April 27 to April 30, 2026.
ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis released a statement about the new event (via Game Developer): “With icon, we are creating a space for visionaries across industries to come together, connect, and reimagine what’s possible through interactive entertainment.”
The new event will allow audience members, though via an invite-only basis.
Some of the high-profile companies in the games industry confirmed to be attending include: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Nintendo, Microsoft, Amazon Games, Disney, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., and Take-Two Interactive.
Will this somehow transition to something close to E3? We can’t say, but that’s highly improbable, given that publishers stopped attending the event for a number of reasons.
In its place, the Summer Game Fest is now the premiere video game show in June. Last week, the event organizers announced that this year, they are hosting a business-to-business event that will feature “thoughtful leaders from gaming, entertainment, and beyond, bringing multiple industries together on one stage for insightful discussions.”
E3, short for Electronic Entertainment Expo, started in 1995, and soon became the venue for major video game reveals. The ESA tried to host a new show in 2023, but the major players all pulled out, and in December 2023, the ESA announced E3 has been retired with no future events planned.
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