11
Mar 20
Another major event falls to the pesky COVID-19

UPDATE: E3 2020 has been officially canceled, confirms the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
Football matches are being played behind closed doors, people are stockpiling toilet paper and Italy is practically on lockdown... welcome to a world being hounded by COVID-19, commonly known as the 'coronavirus'.
The disease, which has spread far and wide across our beloved planet, has already hit the game industry hard with a number of big expos and events being postponed or canceled including SXSW and GDC. Now, it looks like E3 2020 - one of the biggest gaming expos of the year - is being pulled from the events calendar amid safety concerns.
Initial reports, according to GameSpot, stated that multiple sources said that E3 would no longer go ahead in June this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The first public indication that E3 2020 may not be happening was earlier this morning when Devolver Digital, a regular at E3 over the past few years, tweeted: "Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y'all."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.</p>— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) <a href="https://twitter.com/devolverdigital/status/1237544646475051016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
After the official announcement, the ESA said in a statement: "Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it's the right decision based on the information we have today."
What happens to all of the planned E3 game announcements?

With Sony pulling out from E3 long before the coronavirus hit the ground running, we were still expecting a decent line-up of publishers making an appearance including Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Bethesda.
However, with news now confirmed on E3's postponement, what on earth are we going to do this summer to find out about new and exciting games coming out?!
Well, it's not the end of the world, as we expect many of these publishers and developers to host their own presentations online - like Nintendo Direct for example. That way, you'll still get to see all of the new game trailers and learn more about them pretty sharpish.
It just means that, if you were originally attending as press or a guest, you'll have to watch everything unfold from the comfort of your own home.
"We are also exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020," the ESA added. "Updates will be shared on E3Expo.com."
Image credits: E3expo.com