Organizer of The luxurious E3 Games Conference has declared the event that died in 2023. Exaggerated newspaper trade shows attendance fell in 2019, and after Covid-19 lockdown, Entertainment Software Association organizers only kept one more virtual before yank plugs in 2021 Masu.
Now, ESA is ready to move on with a new vaguely described event called The Interactive Innovation Conference, called “Iicon.” Big game developers such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft have already been confirmed for the show.
But Stanley Pierre-Louis, president and CEO of ESA, told Wired, “This is not the new E3.”
IICON, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas in April 2026, is not a fair for game announcements, Pierre Louis says. It's also not a consumer show with demos or forums talking about game development. He says there are already events that “do all of them very well.”
Instead, at IICON, ESA hopes to bridge the gap between many industries shaped by advances in video games, from film and music to healthcare and education.
“We are proud of the history of hosting E3 and what we've done to bring the industry together,” says Pierre Lewis. “But this is a completely clear event with different purposes and different audiences.”
It makes sense to include Hollywood Studios. Games and Hollywood enjoy a successful marriage. Super Mario Bros Movie And its achievement as one of the best growing animated films of all time, as one of the critically acclaimed animated films to adaptation of HBO Our Last. With musicians like Travis Scott and Ariana Grande holding virtual concerts, it feels natural to crossover with the music industry. Fortnite.
More opaque is the link between video games and industries like healthcare. But according to Pierre-Louis, they are more connected than you think. “Surgeons are learning trade through mixed reality VR and know how to improve their skills,” he says. “ADHD and Alzheimer's disease are now handled through video games and sometimes through prescriptions.”
The organizers have yet to release details of the speakers and panels appearing, but according to Pierre-Louis, the schedule doesn't resemble the schedule of the show that rose to take up E3's place. “When you look at how interactive entertainment is used in many other areas, he says.
The new event is “invitation only,” so interested participants must register to attend. This leaves room for famous names across multiple industries. “What we've lacked since E3's sunset is our ability to bring in a wider business community while bringing in and convening everyone,” says Pierre Lewis.
