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Ubisoft will not attend E3 2023, but it will still host a summer live stream

Ubisoft will no longer be attending E3 2023, even though it said it would participate in February. Instead, the game publisher behind Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry plans to hold its own Ubisoft Forward Live event in Los Angeles this June.

Ubisoft confirmed its change in plans to Video Games Chronicle today, with a spokesperson saying that while Ubisoft “initially intended to have an official E3 presence, we’ve made the subsequent decision to move in a different direction.” This is a change in messaging from just over a month ago when Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, “If E3 happens, we will be there, and we will have a lot of things to show.”

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What caused this change of heart in Ubisoft is unclear. However, it seems like the company found that it could still successfully promote its game lineup without being attached to the Entertainment Software Association’s event. We don’t know much about the Ubisoft Forward Live event other than it’ll take place on June 12 in Los Angeles, but Ubisoft tells VGC that “we look forward to sharing more details with our players very soon.”

This puts E3 2023 in a weird overall spot, as we currently know more about the companies that won’t be at the event — like Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Nintendo — than we do about the publishers that will actually be there. After being canceled in 2020 and 2022 and being digital-only in 2021, E3 2023 was supposed to be the annual gaming trade show’s grand return. Right now, though, the relevance and viability of E3 2023 are questionable.

ReedPop has not yet commented on the fact that Ubisoft is no longer attending E3 2023. 

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Every video game delay that has happened in 2023 so far
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Few things feel as inevitable in the video game industry as delays. Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, game delays have only become more and more common as developers find previously set timelines unrealistic and adjust their release plans accordingly. Even just about one month into 2023, notable games like Skull and Bones and The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR have already gotten delayed. Because video game release date delays are so common, it can be tough to keep track of every game that has had its launch date shifted in some way.
That's why, just as we did in 2021 and 2022, Digital Trends is rounding up every game delay that's announced throughout 2023. Here are the high-profile ones that have happened so far, listed chronologically by their new intended release dates.
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As Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is one of the best games for PlayStation VR, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Supermassive Games' PlayStation VR2 successor, is a highly anticipated launch title for the upcoming VR headset. Unfortunately, it will no longer make PlayStation VR2's February 22 launch and will instead be released on March 16. On Twitter, a message from Supermassive Games says this delay will ensure that players "receive the most polished, terrifying experience possible" at release.
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There's just one problem, though. You can only play it online, even when you're going solo.

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2023 is already an excellent year for rhythm games
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Just days into 2023, my podcast co-hosts and I fell into a discussion about rhythm games. In talking about the golden age of music games like Guitar Hero, we began to mourn for a genre that had seemingly fallen out of fashion among mainstream audiences. Sure, niche indies like Melatonin still release regularly and Ubisoft’s Rocksmith quietly exists, but we were left to wonder if the genre was long past its peak.

I’ve never seen a video game conversation age so poorly so fast. Now two full months into the year, 2023 has already been a godsend for fans of rhythm games. That was initially thanks to Tango Gameworks’ excellent Hi-Fi Rush, but that’s only the most high-profile example. Between an excellent Final Fantasy title, indie hidden gems, and a wealth of VR music games getting a second life thanks to PlayStation VR2, 2023 is shaping up to be the year of the rhythm game.
Feel the beat
For music game aficionados, 2023 started off on the strongest note possible thanks to Hi-Fi Rush. The Game Pass title is a character-action game, not unlike Devil May Cry, but with a unique musical twist: every action is more effective when performed to the beat of the game’s soundtrack. While music-based action games aren’t new to gaming (see last year’s Metal: Hellsinger), Hi-Fi Rush cracked the genre wide open and discovered mainstream success.

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