Following reports that the event was on the cusp of being called off, E3 2020 has now officially been cancelled. The ESA, the organisation behind E3, has issued a statement that cites "increased and overwhelming concerns" regarding the coronavirus.
"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 difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles," the statement reads.
The ESA says that it'll reach out to exhibitors and attendees in order to issue "full refunds".
Interestingly, the statement does mention a potential "online experience", which could replace the cancelled event. "[The ESA is] exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020." Naturally, we'll be keeping an eye on this to see if anything unfolds.
The ESA supposedly had big plans for this year's E3. It was set to spotlight celebrity cameos and promote popular online personalities, which, unsurprisingly, attracted a lot of heat here on the internet. What's more, Sony announced that it would be skipping E3 2020 months ago, while just a few weeks back, industry and E3 veteran Geoff Keighley revealed that he wouldn't be taking part for the first time in 25 years. Simply put, it was starting to look like E3 2020 would be a bit of a disaster.
Are you at all surprised to see E3 2020 cancelled? Remember to wash your hands in the comments section below.
[source gamespot.com]
Comments 25
Not surprised. The trend to cancel large events is probably for the best. Hopefully there will still be lots of trailers in June.
with how it was shaping up this is probably for the best anyway
The Right thing to do.
Also anyone want to bet that this online event is going to be the new plan in the future aswell?
I see why they’re doing it and I get it, all for the benefit of someone’s health, but I still think everyone is reacting absurdly to the coronavirus. Where was this concern during Ebola, Swine Flu, or any major strain?
Well the way I see it Nintendo and Sony already do their own thing so they don't need to be at E3 and e3 was going to be focused on YouTubers and celebrities anyways so it wasn't going to be a very good show I would rather just had the news
I wont be gutted tbh if ps5 gets delayed
Gutted, I wanted to see what Ninja thought about the Xbox Series X.
@Akurusu i have to agree that the media have run wild with this but cancelling E3 was also probably wise. E3 can basically be streamed behind closed doors. I know there's more to it than the conferences like playing the demos but hell they can just release them to the general public without fear of controller contamination etc.
It's the right decision, not only because of Corona Virus, but also the presence of the dreaded Social Media Influenza at the event.
Other than Coronavirus concerns, with the direction E3 was heading this year it's probably for the best.
I feel they would've focused too much on influencers and celebs celebrating games then the actual games and developers themselves, which should be the main focus of E3.
Don't tell me it's SONY's fault God this virus is getting out of hand :-/
@Danloaded @Akurusu I feel that now these social gatherings are better cancelled more as a way of preventing a lawsuit then keeping the public healthy. You know if someone went to E3 and got the coronavirus they would sue E3 for putting it on.
Not surprised by this at all.sony will have their own press conference.health first guys.stay safe everyone.word up son
How can they financially be able to offer refunds after all the planning and prepurchasing ESA presumably did?
@Genrou agreed. I believe people are currently suing a cruise company over the virus which is mental but a gathering like E3 or festival would be ripe for either suing or media backlash
As long as a bunch of trailers come out in June, it's not too big of a deal for most of us.
hey it's even getting main media representation now
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51836036
@Rudy_Manchego that wouldn't have been at E3 though, it would have been exclusive to Mixer
Now will ps5 and Xbox x get delayed to 2021
@andrew20 @andrew20 its still confirmed to be released on Holiday 2020.
I'm hoping Sega to host an online experience in June.
@Genrou Which brings me back to my point. Where was this concern during Ebola, swine flu, west nile, etc.
I curious if the publishers will still schedule their own streams for around the same week as E3 or if they will end up spreading out a bit more as nothing is now holding them to that date.
@Stragen8
They dont need to shut it down, just do it online.
I would give the people who paid the live feed and everyone else a delay.
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