Ubisoft announces its event and will not be attending E3

Publisher Ubisoft has announced that it will not be attending E3, and instead has opted to host its event, Ubisoft Forward Live on June 12.

The details:

• Ubisoft has announced that the first Ubisoft Forward Live event will take place on June 12, 2023, in Los Angeles. It has also confirmed that it will not be attending E3, which surprised many because it was the first of the larger companies to announce its attendance at the trade show in February 2023. A spokesperson told VGC that, while the show had "unforgettable moments across the industry throughout the years," the company has decided to "move in a different direction." It's unclear whether the publisher will attend any future E3 events, but hosting its own event will likely be a more straightforward and cost-effective approach in the future.
• Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation, the industry's three largest gaming companies, will not be present at E3 this year. Following reports of alleged disagreements with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Sony withdrew from the event in 2019 and has instead chosen to host its State of Play events. Non-attendance is an extremely rare occurrence for Nintendo and Xbox, as both companies have been at almost all E3 shows up to this point, but Xbox has instead chosen to host its events, with Nintendo stating that it will not attend as it "doesn't have enough major releases ready to show that would justify significant event space." The Xbox Games Showcase will take place on June 11, followed by the Starfield showcase.
• It appears that E3 is becoming increasingly unpopular in the industry as the world’s economy continues to struggle and costs to run a booth at the event have been reported to be upwards of thousands per day in the past. Instead, hosting smaller in-person events once a year and moving to an online livestream format has become popular, with Nintendo Direct, State of Play, and the new Developer Direct filling in the gaps when necessary. Whilst it’s likely to continue as one of the industry’s most popular events to show off new titles, we could see companies of all sizes move away in favor of other trade shows such as GDC.

What could be revealed at the event:

• Ubisoft has a considerable number of projects in the works across its many IPs. Ten new Assassin’s Creed (AC) titles are reportedly in the works across multiple studios, with its newest entry, AC: Mirage, planned to arrive in 2023. We’ll likely see more of AC: Codename Red, a game set in feudal Japan and rumored to feature two playable protagonists, as well as reveals and announcements regarding the more secretive titles.
• Two new Far Cry titles are also said to be in the works. Originally a single project, the games were split into distinct single-player and multiplayer offerings, both of which are being worked on by the company’s Montreal studio. The multiplayer project is said to have changed directions multiple times so far, but is currently "set in the Alaskan wilderness and is currently an extraction-based shooter with mechanics such as permadeath, a backpack system, contracts, and more." We’re still likely far enough away from their release dates, so there’s a possibility Ubisoft doesn’t announce anything just yet.
• Swedish subsidiary Massive Entertainment is working on a new game set in the universe of James Cameron’s Avatar films that is targeted for release at some point in 2023. Ubisoft has not yet shown any gameplay, but a leaker has shown what appears to be in-game screenshots from the title and stated that they intend to release gameplay footage, so we may see something more official at the event.