Geoff Keighley, the organizer of Summer Game Fest, does not agree that his festival was partly the reason for the cancellation of the E3 exhibition. He believes that E3 would not have taken place this year, even if Summer Game Fest did not exist.
“In my opinion, E3 has committed suicide in a sense. I understand why people say that. […] But I created Summer Game Fest because I’ve already seen the wheels fall off the E3 van,” Keeley said on the VGC Podcast.
According to Kiely, in recent years, the E3 format has lost its appeal, and gaming companies have become less willing to participate in the exhibition. Therefore, the fate of E3 was sealed.
Kiely added that he had never considered E3 a competitor to Summer Game Fest, and after it became known about the cancellation of E3, the number of festival partners did not change.