This isn’t exactly a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to the fate of recent conventions, but E3 2020, the largest gaming expo of the year, is hours away from being canceled due to the Coronavirus.
That’s according to Devolver Digital, publisher of the Serious Sam and Shadow Warrior series. “Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all,” it tweeted.
Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020
While Devolver Digital are known jokesters (check out their fake E3 press conferences), Kotaku’s Jason Schreier tweeted back and said that he had also heard “secondhand whispers” from developers and publishers that E3 would not be happening. “It’s only a matter of time,” he said.
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
If that’s not enough proof, respected game journalist Mike Futter has also told attendees to cancel their plans. An official announcement will reportedly go down sometime tomorrow morning.
My day started with investigating some E3 stuff. Ended with multiple (and I mean MULTIPLE) sources coming my way.
— Mike Futter (@Futterish) March 11, 2020
E3 cancelation announcement scheduled for tmw AM. I don’t think it will hold the night. Many of us have been engaged by sources this evening.
Cancel your plans.
This is bad news for E3’s organizers, but the conference doesn’t mean much these days for non-attendees, who can get the latest news and announcements with the click of a mouse. Sony wasn’t even planning to attend this year, which reduced the conference’s relevance even further.
“After thorough evaluation SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020,” said Sony Interactive Entertainment. “We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year.
“We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe. Our focus is on making sure fans feel part of the PlayStation family and have access to play their favorite content. We have a fantastic line up of titles coming to PlayStation 4, and with the upcoming launch of PlayStation 5, we are truly looking forward to a year of celebration with our fans.”