E3 2016: Two More Big Companies Won't Have Floor Space This year

Electronic Arts and Activision have already confirmed they won't have booths on the E3 2016 show floor, and now two more major companies have also said they won't either.GamesBeat reports that Disney Interactive (Disney Infinity) and Wargaming (World of Tanks) will not have floor space this year.

Disney Interactive did not say why it won't have floor space at the show this year. The company is not planning to launch a new Disney Infinity mainline product this year, so it might be that Disney doesn't want to spend the money for a booth. Instead, Disney plans to update the existing Disney Infinity 3.0 with new content and characters throughout the year.

We have followed up with Disney in an attempt to get more details.

Wargaming, on the other hand, explained in a statement that E3 "doesn't fit our current direction."

"From a company perspective, we're focusing a large majority of activities on events focused on our players and community," the studio said. "Whether it's a small group of players or hundreds at one of our player gatherings, they're our main priority.

"From a strictly business perspective, E3 just doesn't fit our current direction. It's a show that is very centralized on retail product, and as a free-to-play digital download gaming company, we've realized that while the show may be a good fit for lots of other publishers and developers, it's currently not a great fit for us. And, of course, we appreciate all that the ESA does in their legislative efforts and their work to raise and discuss issues surrounding video gaming as an industry, hobby and way of life."

Disney Interactive and Wargaming are both members of the Entertainment Software Association, the group that puts on E3 every year and represents the industry's interests in Washington.

ESA senior vice president of communications Rich Taylor told GamesBeat that E3 "remains a dynamic and valuable and preeminent show."

"It's still the place to be," he said. "We have a record number of press briefings this year in the ramp to opening the show. That's an indicator that folks recognize how valuable a launch pad it is. Being a part of E3 adds rocket fuel to the attention and eyeballs and interest and visibility of new titles and hardware and innovations that our industry produces each and every year. E3 is a strong, critical, and integral part of our video game ecosystem."

You can read the full story at GamesBeat.

E3 2016 runs June 14-16, with briefings from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft expected for the days before the show kicks off.

You can see the full list of participating companies for E3 2016 here.