Nintendo confirms it's skipping E3 2023

After reports earlier this year that all of the 'Big Three' console makers would be skipping E3 2023, one of them has finally made it official: Nintendo won't be at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

As Nintendo tells VentureBeat in a statement: "We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans. Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA and E3."

The caveat here is, of course, that we don't know how Nintendo is skipping E3. This statement certainly makes it easy to assume Nintendo won't have any booth space at the physical E3 show, but even if the company's not directly participating in the event, we could still see a Nintendo Direct showcase during that time frame.

Of course, the rumors have it that Nintendo is skipping E3 because it simply doesn't have enough games to show, which could certainly hamper its ability to put on an exciting summer Direct. E3 officially kicks off on June 13, and by that time every announced Switch title save Pikmin 4 and Metroid Prime 4 will already have been released. The publisher could have something secret up its sleeve - here's where I put on my clown makeup to joke about a Nintendo Switch Pro - but it's tough to imagine what that might realistically be.

What actually counts as E3 is now the real question as we try to figure out what to make of the E3 2023 schedule. We know Xbox has a summer showcase planned, but we don't know if it's connected to E3. Ubisoft said that it's going to E3 "If" the show happens, well after the show had already been confirmed. How many press conferences will or won't be part of the traditional E3 week? Hopefully we'll learn soon.

For now, these are the upcoming Switch games you need to know about.