National Business Wire (Dec 13) -- The U.S.-based Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced Tuesday that it has decided to end the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3.

"After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3," the ESA said.

With this, the E3 gaming show, which has a history of more than 20 years, is officially and permanently discontinued.

"We know it's difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it's the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners," ESA CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis told the Washington Post.

E3 posted a farewell message on social media platform X, which read, "After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories."

Hosted annually by the ESA, E3 was once one of the top expositions in the video game industry.

The E3 gaming expo has been running since 1995, though it has had its ups and downs since 2020.

Due to COVID-19, the ESA was unable to successfully host E3 in 2020 and 2021. And this year, the organizers finally canceled the show due to too few exhibitors.