The alarm bells should have started to ring in April. After EGX 2023 was less than well received, the UK’s showpiece gaming show was announced to be merging with MCM ComicCon, to create a single event at the ExCel Centre, rather than two. EGX, formerly a 4 day event, would now be part of an existing 3 day weekender.

It shared equal promotion. “MCM x EGX” suggests split billing. When the announcement of the merged event was made, I was disappointed, yes, but it did make sense. There just isn’t a great deal coming out at the end of 2024 or early 2025. This was probably the best way of providing an EGX event in 2024 without it being so clear that there aren’t many big hitters on the horizon.

And then there was nothing. For months. No real game announcements, a handful of panels confirmed, but it was all very quiet. The headline game was announced, however, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows far and away the biggest new title at the show. Until it wasn’t. Following Ubisoft’s decision to postpone its release, the game was pulled from EGX, and replaced with a booth dedicated to Star Wars Outlaws. A game that came out a few months ago to no real acclaim. I assume Ubisoft saw the event as a good opportunity to get effectively relaunch interest in the game prior to the Christmas period.

That’s EGX in the corner

When the weekend finally rolled around, it became pretty clear pretty quickly this was not an event with its shows on equal footing. I arrived at the ExCel at 10am, and it took a good 15 minutes for me to actually find the EGX area. About a third of a large room, next to a catering section. It felt like retro and tabletop games were better represented than newer titles. It didn’t feel like an event worth happening. It was sad. I recall stepping off the underground at Earls Court in 2011 and being washed with banners and posters for games on show at the Eurogamer Expo. There wasn’t anything close to that here, though I do appreciate the ExCel has location issues that would affect that.

There were good games here, please don’t get that twisted. As I’ve discussed, I came away from the event with a handful of titles I’m excited to see more from in the coming months. But that’s not the point. The EGX part of “MCM x EGX” felt like an obligation, and nothing more. The experience of being at EGX was a demoralising one.

In days of yore, Lego Horizon Adventures would be at the centre of the operation. And it was, to an extent. Lego themselves had a sizable booth, and the game was prominent within it. But they only had three screens set up for isz as many as Lego Fortnite, a Fortnite add-on that came out months ago. You expect a bit of a queue, but there was only a handful of people in front of me and we waited an hour to get hands on with the game. I managed to start and finish a call with my dad, a notorious rambler, before I’d even really stepped forward.

So what you have is an event with very little to show, cramming everything into a portion of the overall floor space. It made for an incredibly uncomfortable experience. When you’re unable to get to “The Leftfield Collection” because of the mass of bodies between you and it, you know something’s going wrong.

Old man yells at cloud

Being at EGX this year made me think back to the big Eurogamer Expo shows I attended in 2011 and 2012. Lucky enough to have had my press pass applications accepted, I barrelled around those shows in wonder. Hands on with the PS Vita for the first time, time with Skyward Sword and Skyrim, going back to my hotel room and penning several hands on previews for an older blog. Each major platform holder and publisher showcased their finest wares ahead of a bumper festive release window. As someone who binged the E3 and GamesCom weeks, having something resembling that in London was inspirational, and aspirational. I’m certain that better writers than I were fuelled by the experiences at those events to go on and make it in games media. And absolutely that will apply to blossoming game developers, or marketers, basically any role you can imagine across the industry. These events are vital, as far as I’m concerned, for keeping the pipeline flowing.

Look, I get it. It’s pretty clear that those game major industry players aren’t as keen on the expo scene as they were 15 years ago. The industry has changed so much that you’re unlikely to have a game break out at these shows in the way they might have when they were in their pomp. I literally bought RAGE and Dead Island off the back of playing them at the Eurogamer Expo. While you obviously cannot attribute those games’ successes to those shows, they undeniably played their part.

I digress. The success of trade shows like EGX does very much hinge on just how much developers and publishers are willing to show. At this moment in gaming history, those companies just don’t have a great deal to show. Nintendo are gearing up for a new console release in 2025, Sony’s big game for Christmas 2024 is the aforementioned Lego Horizon Adventures, and Microsoft have The Great Circle in November (not sure why this wasn’t present, by the way. Feels like the perfect place to get more people interested in it). Emblematic of the issues publishes face is, really, Ubisoft giving a large space to an already released game because they don’t have anything else out until next year.

What next?

The last show I attended, prior to this, was EGX Rezzed in 2018 at Tobacco Docks. The idea behind that show was to give a platform to smaller scale and indie titles. It was at this show I first felt Disco Elysium getting some buzz. We spent all day at that show, leaving as the doors were closed for the day. EGX Rezzed doesn’t exist anymore, but that might be the sort of scale EGX needs to operate at while the industry balances itself out. What point is there in existing if it’s just going to be a booth at ComicCon? No one really benefits from that.

I really do hope there are better days ahead, and this is just a blip while the industry handles operating post-pandemic. EGX, as an institution, deserves better than what it is right now. And the attendees deserve more for the £25 or so entry fee. Fingers crossed for 2025?