UPDATE: The ESA has made an official statement on E3, officially canceling the event.
“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.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
The coronavirus has an ever-growing list of conferences and events it’s having a negative impact on. U.S. campaign rallies have taken a hit, GDC was canceled, as was SXSW. The list is only growing as the COVID-19 gains momentum all over the world. Given how quickly it’s been spreading, there have been plenty of companies unwilling to risk the health of their workforce. However, the folks behind the video game conference E3 more recently announced that they were going forward with their June event, but with a close eye on the developing situation
With the way things are developing, however, it looks more and more like E3 may also be heading toward cancelation. Our first indication of this hit last night when publisher Devolver Digital sent out a tweet that left little to the imagination.
“Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all,” the tweet read. There was no further context provided. No reasons given for this random tweet. Of course, you didn’t need to be a genius to get the subtext of this tweet. Yeah, this was happening because of COVID-19. This tweet was later backed up by Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier, who said the following.
RELATED – Coronavirus, Shmoronavirus: E3 Is Still Happening This June
“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. Heard from two people that E3 cancellation will be announced tomorrow AM (both secondhand), and one person w/ ESA ties who insists that it won’t be. Normally I sit on conflicting info until I sort out what’s true, but with E3 rumors now everywhere, figured I’d be transparent here. But, again, whether or not it’s announced tomorrow morning, it’s only a matter of time before E3 is officially cancelled. Publishers can’t afford to wait much longer to make their plans, and all signs point to the virus getting way worse in the U.S. before it gets better.”
Ars Technica quickly checked in with multiple sources of their own. According to them, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has plans to announce this later today. One source stated that it was supposed to be announced today, but that it slipped out earlier than intended.
An official announcement is expected around 9:30 AM PT today. All in all, it sounds like this is inevitable, so if you were planning a flight to E3 in June, it sounds like you should cancel those plans.
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SOURCE: New York Times, Ars Technica, Devolver Digital, Jason Schreier
