The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), formerly known for organizing E3, has announced a new event: the Interactive Innovation Conference (iicon).  This upcoming conference signals a departure from the recent consumer-focused format of E3.

After the last E3 in 2021, which reportedly resulted in significant financial losses for the ESA, the organization canceled the following two iterations and ultimately discontinued E3 in December 2023.

Now, 14 months later, the ESA returns with iicon, an event focused on forward-thinking discussions and networking within the interactive entertainment industry.  The ESA describes iicon as "a first-of-its-kind event designed to connect visionaries, thought leaders and innovators from across industries" to "harness the power of interactive entertainment."

iicon is scheduled for April 27-30, 2026, at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas.  Several long-time E3 partners, including Nintendo of America, PlayStation, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive, have already committed to presenting keynotes.  The conference will be invite-only, with interested parties able to register for updates on the official iicon website. While pricing details are yet to be released, invitations are expected to function as exclusive paid tickets.

The invite-only format of iicon distinguishes it from the more recent, consumer-oriented E3 events. This exclusivity, combined with the focus on innovation and networking, harkens back to E3's original industry-only format from 1995 to 2016.  E3 didn't open its doors to the public until 2017.

While the game announcement aspect of E3 has largely been taken over by events like Summer Game Fest and individual publisher showcases (a key factor in ESA's decision to discontinue E3), the announcement of iicon suggests that the ESA still sees value in an industry-focused event.