While some live events continue to bloom, such as Gamescom where it feels like there's more people there every year, others are struggling to gather the sponsors, exhibitors, and participants they need to make a big convention worthwhile.
Insomnia, the UK gaming festival that hit a major bump in the road back in 2024, was meant to return this year with Insomnia 74. However, the event has been cancelled, with organisers citing a lack of sponsors and exhibitors as the reason behind the cancellation.
"Despite over a year of work, industry wide reduced investment in live events from major tech and hardware brands meant we couldn't secure the sponsorship and exhibitor presence needed to deliver Insomnia at the standard you deserve," reads the post.
<social>https://x.com/IGFestUK/status/2028804646437826873</social>
"With rising production costs, moving forward would have meant offering a lesser version of the festival, and we were not willing to do that," it continues. If you'd bought a ticket, you will receive a full refund, and the UK-based event DreamHack is offering 30% off its tickets if you missed out on Insomnia 74 and want to head to Birmingham instead.
For now, Insomnia will rest, according to the post, but we don't know if it'll ever wake from its slumber again. This feels like an E3 situation, except you can be sure people won't be asking for the return of Insomnia as much as they were E3.