[12:25 EST, 03/11/2020] UPDATE:
It’s official: E3 2020 has been cancelled due to Coronavirus.
The Electronic Software Association released this statement officially confirming the event’s cancellation:
“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 longtime E3 partners — we have made the 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.”
It’s currently unclear what developers and publishers will do in the wake of gaming’s biggest media event disappearing – all those spicy game announcements and next-gen console release trailers have to go somewhere, after all. It seems most likely that all the big-name companies like Microsoft and Ubisoft will opt to host either a livestream or pre-prepared video to show off all their big news, not unlike Nintendo with their Nintendo Directs.
It’s no secret that fans of E3 have become increasingly disillusioned with the event due to the way it was being run, especially after thousands of journalists’ private information was leaked last year. Attendance from some other big names also came into question earlier this year. Sony confirmed they wouldn’t be there for the second year in a row, and E3 veteran Geoff Keighley also stated he’d be skipping this one.
Though the news is a little disheartening, it’s indisputably in everyone’s best interest to cancel the event amidst the health concerns. Who knows, though. Perhaps a year off is exactly what E3 needs to rethink the future of the convention.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
E3 is rumored to be cancelled due to fear of coronavirus.
Though there had been internal murmurings about the cancellation, it wasn’t until Devolver Digital recommended people cancel their flights and hotels for E3 that people started to take the rumors more seriously.
Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020
