Amidst the growing concerns brought about by the COVID-19 / Coronavirus that’s bringing companies all over the world to cancel events one after the other, it’s not surprising that E3 may follow suit and while no official announcement has been made, a lot of whispers suggest that it’s only a matter of time.
ArsTechnica reports that the ESA will soon announce the cancellation and that some sources report hearing it “directly from ESA members”. It’s not clear whether it will be simply postponed or cancelled altogether, but the gaming industry stands to lose one of its biggest annual events as all evidence points to it already.
Tweets from the industry like Devolver Digital, Jason Schreier, and Mike Futter have all but confirmed the cancellation even before the official announcement has been made.
Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020
Been hearing secondhand whispers tonight from several devs/pubs that E3 is cancelled, although I've also heard from a couple of people in positions to know that the ESA hasn't officially made a decision yet and is still consulting with pubs. Either way, it's only a matter of time https://t.co/Od0MDj3ZXv
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) March 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/Futterish/status/1237547090110111744
If this pushes through (the cancellation, we mean), then this will be the first time since 1996 that E3 won’t be making an appearance.
E3 is an annual gaming event that showcases the biggest news and reveals for the rest of the year and considering that E3 2020 was supposed to be particularly exciting due to the next generation of consoles coming out, it’s a shame that this gathering of gamers from around the world won’t happen anymore.
The ESA has yet to make an official announcement.
Videogame Content Editor. A father and gamer. Would gladly trade what’s left of his soul to witness a Final Fantasy 6 and Xenogears remake done during his lifetime.
