The biggest gaming event of the year is no more, as the ESA has reportedly cancelled E3 2020 due to concerns over COVID-19 coronavirus.
More and more dominoes continue to fall in the gaming industry and beyond. Major events are being cancelled by the day and now it looks one of the biggest ones of the gaming year just bit the dust. The Entertainment Software Association appears to have shuttered the annual E3 convention, set for June, due to concerns over the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus.
Speculation ran rampant on Tuesday night, as esteemed members of the gaming press pointed to E3’s potential demise being imminent. Industry renegades Devolver Digital were the ones who really got the storm brewing, though, with a blunt statement on Twitter.
Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020
This was shortly followed by Ars Technica reporting that the show was cancelled based on sources close to the ESA.
E3 joins a growing list of cancelled or postponed events in the gaming industry, including this year’s Game Developers Conference and far too many esports events to name here. The June convention was already facing an uphill battle with exhibitors like PlayStation and luminaries like Geoff Keighley opting to skip the show.
Official word from the ESA is not in as of this article’s post. We will be sure to monitor this story closely and offer updates as soon as they come in.
Developing…
Source: https://www.shacknews.com/article/116838/rumor-e3-2020-canceled-over-coronavirus-concerns