There have been many large events that have been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns. The gaming expo E3 2020 scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles is another big event that has been cancelled.
Rumors of Cancellation were Circulating Before it was Confirmed
There were rumors that the expo would be cancelled in ES 2020 updates given by Ars Technica and Bloomberg. Finally, the cancellation was confirmed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) itself in a statement, making the cancellation official.
The City of Los Angeles Declared a State of Emergency
The E3 is held in Los Angeles every year, but this year the city declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The show has run at the Los Angeles Convention Center since 2009, and this is the first time the show will not go on since it began in 1995.
Conference and Participant Cancellations as well as Other Problems Plagued the E3 2020
Other technology and gaming conferences were being cancelled due to coronavirus, causing a domino effect that contributed to the decision to cancel E3 2020.
Technology and gaming participants pulled out as well, the most notable being Sony, which skipped the E3 for the second year in a row.
Geoff Keighly, host of popular E3 live-stream events declined to participate as well. In addition, the group iam8bit pulled out of its creative director role.
Along with high-profile participants dropping out, there were behind-the-scenes disagreements to add to the coronavirus problems.
The E3 2020 is a Large Event that has an Effect on the Gaming Community
The E3 is the biggest gaming show and one of the biggest weeks of the year for video game announcements. It attracts companies like Microsoft, Nintendo and many other developers and publishers, who use the show to announce and often showcase their upcoming hardware and games.
This Year was Expected to be Bigger Than Ever
This year was going to be bigger than ever, with a chance to showcase the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X set to release in late 2020.
A whole bunch of next-gen games were expected to be announced in conjunction with these new consoles, as well as a highlight of information about the Microsoft Xbox Series X.
Some of the Biggest Names in Gaming Decided Not to Attend or to Hold Their Own Events
Companies that included Microsoft, Nintendo, Warner Bros, Bethesda, Sega and Ubisoft confirmed that they would be attending E3 2020.
However, Sony was one of the high-profile participants that confirmed that it wasn’t going to be attending this year, and Microsoft decided to host its own digital event for Xbox instead of doing it at E3. The digital event time and date will be announced in the coming weeks.
Both Exhibitors and Attendees will be Eligible for Full Refunds
There haven’t been any announcements about any rescheduling, and the ESA has said it will contact exhibitors and attendees with information about full refunds.
