#E32020 Called off Due to #Coronavirus Concerns, Digital Presentations Planned

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Posted March 12, 2020 by Richard Lee Breslin in E3, Gaming News, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One

We all saw it coming, but due to concerns of the COVID-19 virus (more commonly known as the Coronavirus), and it spreading to all those in attendance, this year’s E3 has been called off.  It follows a host of events across the world being cancelled and in the coming weeks/months, I doubt it will be the last.

The ESA (Entertainment Software Association), the company responsible for E3, confirmed the cancellation of E3 by releasing the following statement:

After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our long-time E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles.

Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today.

Our team will be reaching out directly to exhibitors and attendees with information about providing full refunds.

We are also exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020. Updates will be shared on E3expo.com.

We thank everyone who shared their views on reimagining E3 this year. We look forward to bringing you E3 2021 as a reimagined event that brings fans, media and the industry together in a showcase that celebrates the global video game industry.

While this will cause disappointment for fans wanting to attend and for those that stream the event across the world, it’s the employees hired for the event, as well as the developers/publishers, especially of the indie variety that will be affected the most.  But I think it goes without saying, that individuals health and safety takes paramount and as they say “better safe than sorry”.

However, while we won’t likely see E3 take place now until 2021, companies such as Microsoft and Ubisoft have announced that they plan instead to stream an event in its place at a later date, taking inspiration from Nintendo Direct and Sony’s State of Play.  Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has also revealed that Warner Bros planned to officially reveal the leaked Harry Potter RPG and their much teased Batman game.  But I suspect, just like Microsoft and Ubisoft, Warner Bros and many others will no doubt stream their own dedicated events at a later date.

 

 

Are you disappointed by the cancellation of E3 2020 and do you think we’ll soon see the PS5 and Xbox Series X being pushed back to 2021?  Share your thoughts across our social media channels.


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