Long-running industry staple E3 canceled its 2020 iteration over coronavirus concerns according to an official statement released earlier today. E3 2020 was an event many industry members had mixed feelings about heading into its June bookings, as the expo has gotten smaller over the years and lost the attendance of major companies like Sony, which famously skipped last year's version of the show and had planned to do the same this year.
E3 has also been suffering from an image problem recently due to the problematic handling of thousands of people's personal information following E3 2019. Attendees like content creators and journalists found out that their personal information had been leaked thanks to the ESA failing to delete or protect the info following the event, and the apology that followed left many bitter about the situation. E3 2020's cancelation isn't a huge surprise, either, as rumors began circulating that the event would be axed earlier this week.
If E3 is going to rebuild its image, it won't be this year: the long-running industry staple announced that E3 2020 is canceled earlier today. Of course, the coronavirus outbreak has impacted many corners of the gaming world already, whether it be developers working from home and delaying games or the launch of new hardware being put off. Still, the reality of the situation has really been driven home with the reveal that E3 2020 simply won't be happening this year as a result of the rampaging virus. The ESA's official statement is as follows:
"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."
Now that E3 2020 is canceled, fans can expect new information in the summer to be released in more traditional (if not a little less reverent) fashion, whether that be through livestreams from companies or social media announcements. The ESA also suggested that it was exploring options for an online-only subsitute, though its unclear what that would look like - or why companies would participate since streaming from studios is fairly easy. The fact that the industry will be able to proceed as normal without an incredible amount of disruption is yet more evidence that E3 may be scrambling to reinvent itself when it returns, presumably in 2021.
Still, as one of the most iconic gaming events in the industry's history, any year without E3 is bound to feel strange for developers and fans alike. It's undoubtedly the right decision from the ESA to protect the health of its many attendees and contributors, even if it's being done far in advance of the event itself. With E3 2020 canceled, however, there's a huge void in the year that won't soon be replaced, and although the event's reputation has taken a hit over the last year, perhaps its absence will rekindle the love affair many have shared with it after attending their first E3 and it will return better than ever in 2021. For the developers and other industry members who both look forward to and depend on E3 for publicity, networking, and more, hopefully there's a viable alternative instituted soon to help those affected.
Source: ESA