Amidst the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, E3 has announced that the yearly gaming convention will be cancelled.
The E3 team is devastated to share this news. This decision was not reached lightly, but it is the right one for the health and safety of all involved. Read our statement here: https://t.co/1uOWxTerN9 pic.twitter.com/gD2IxNACLX
— E3 (@E3) March 11, 2020
E3 is the largest gaming convention in the world, held in the Los Angeles Convention Center, and attracts the biggest names in gaming like Microsoft and Sony, who hold conferences yearly. These conferences are usually where the biggest reveals are shown.
This follows news of other events such as the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) being cancelled and many of the big players pulling out of PAX East.
However, it isn’t all bad, today both Ubisoft and executive vice-president of Gaming at Microsoft, Phil Spencer, have both released statements on the matter:
An update regarding E3 2020. pic.twitter.com/cThkDIkfVm
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) March 11, 2020
E3 has always been an important moment for Team Xbox. Given this decision, this year we'll celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community and all who love to play via an Xbox digital event. Details on timing and more in the coming weeks https://t.co/xckMKBPf9h
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 11, 2020
So, Ubisoft are working on a ‘virtual experience’, and Xbox have confirmed the idea of their ‘Xbox digital event’. Our best guess is having the events live-streamed, like usual, but with an event possibly being held at the Ubisoft/Xbox offices with a smaller audience of journalists rather than having the event open to the public.
Some of the other big players like Bethesda, Sony and Nintendo have stayed silent on the matter, we hope they are also working on some sort of event.
IGN has written an excellent article about which gaming events have been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak, which you can read here.
For tips and information on Coronavirus, check out the NHS website: