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The organizers of The extravagant Game Conference E3 delivered the event dead in 2023. The assistance to the Bombastic Fair Fair and full of news was in the decline In 2019, and after the blockade of COVID-19, the organizers of the Entertainment Software Association celebrated one more virtual show in 2021 before plug shots.
Now, the ESA is ready to move forward with a new and vaguely described event called Interactive Innovation Conference, called “Iicon”. Large games developers such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and more are already confirmed for the show.
But the president and CEO of ESA, Stanley Pierre-Louis, wants to clarify one thing: “This is not the new E3,” he tells Wired.
Thinking in April 2026 in Las Vegas, Iicon will not be a commercial fair for games advertisements, says Pierre-Louis. Nor will it be a consumer program with demonstrations or a forum to talk about the development of games. He says there are already events “that do all those things very well.”
On the other hand, with Iicon, that hopes to close the gap between the many industries that are formed by advances in video games, from cinema and music to medical care and education.
“We are proud of the story we had to organize E3 and what it did to unite our industry,” says Pierre-Louis. “But this is a completely different event with a different purpose and a different audience.”
The inclusion of Hollywood studies makes sense. Games and Hollywood have been enjoying a successful marriage, from the Super Mario Bros movie. And his achievement as one of the most rewarded animated films of all time, to the acclaimed adaptation of HBO HBO of The last of us. Crossover with the music industry also feels natural, since musicians like Travis Scott and Ariana Grande have celebrated virtual concerts in Fortnite.
More opaque is the link between video games and an industry such as medical care. According to Pierre-Louis, however, they are more connected than you think. “Surgeons are learning their trade through a virtual reality of mixed reality to understand how to make improvements in their skills,” he says. “ADHD and Alzheimer’s are now being treated through video games, sometimes through recipes.”
The organizers have not published details about speakers or panels that will appear, but according to Pierre-Louis, the schedule will not resemble those of the programs that have increased to take the place of E3. “If you observe how interactive entertainment has been used in several other fields,” he says, “you can see that it is having a great impact, even if people do not recognize or celebrate it so much.”
The new event will be “only by invitation”, so interested participants must register to attend. This will leave room for great names in multiple industries. “What is missing from the sunset of E3 is the ability to unite everyone to meet, while attracting the broader business community,” says Pierre-Louis.
