While it was originally reported that Nintendo would be one of the major businesses skipping E3 this year, the company has officially verified that they will not be attending. They told VentureBeat that, while they support the gathering, it did not work into their plans for this year.

The year 2023 marks the first in-person E3 gathering since 2019. When the 2020 epidemic struck, the performance was abruptly canceled, with a digital event taking place in 2021 before the following year was canceled as well. In recent physical E3s, Nintendo would broadcast their digital Nintendo Direct presentation while also having a presence on the floor to show off their forthcoming titles.

While their phrasing attempts to leave the reason for their absence from E3 open, other sources suggest that Nintendo’s second half of 2023 will be fairly dry. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrives in May, but the year’s next “biggest” release is Pikmin 4, which has its supporters but isn’t a huge series. Metroid Prime 4 has been totally silent, and there is no sign of a major video game release from the company’s mascot this year, aside from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

While Nintendo will not be present at E3, we would be shocked if there are no preparations for a Nintendo Direct during the summer. Just because the company’s largest titles have recently released doesn’t mean we won’t see DLC news for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or releases for lesser games like a Mario softball game. Even though PlayStation and Xbox (who are also skipping E3) are making advances in their own digital showings, we think Nintendo is still the best business at managing these digital displays.