According to multiple reports, E3 2020 is set to be called off later today. Numerous reliable sources familiar with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)'s plans have confirmed that the LA-based gaming convention won't be taking place in June this year.
Indie publisher Devolver Digital was among the first to emerge with a warning. Late last night, the company tweeted out, advising that people cancel their E3 flights and hotels. Kotaku journalist Jason Schreier then retweeted Devolver confirming that he'd heard similar rumblings regarding the show.
"Been hearing secondhand whispers tonight from several devs/pubs that E3 is cancelled," he wrote. "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 publishers. Either way, it's only a matter of time."
Tech website Ars Technica then published its own report that seemed to confirm E3 2020 was officially dead. The site's source suggested that the ESA had planned to announce the cancellation on Tuesday, but that this was pushed back for some reason.
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Not long after that, a number of other outlets - including Gamespot - shared their own reports claiming that E3 2020 was over. It's important to note that the ESA has yet to officially comment, but the growing noise from various industry figures and publications rather does suggest that the show will not be going ahead.
Bloomberg has learned from "a person familiar with the matter" that the ESA will be making an official announcement later today, around 4:30pm UK time. It also claims that the organisation is currently "exploring options for an online E3 event this summer," so even if the show doesn't go ahead in LA, there should still be plenty of gaming news to get excited about in the coming months.
It's currently unclear exactly why E3 2020 is set to be cancelled, but we can likely assume that it has something to do with the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. The spread of the disease around the world has led to a number of events being cancelled or postponed, including GDC, Coachella, and TwitchCon in Amsterdam.
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Given that California recently declared a state of emergency over the outbreak, hosting a major gaming expo in LA probably wouldn't be considered the best idea right now. There's also the fact that numerous publishers and developers have drifted away from E3 in recent years to do their own thing. And of course, a number of influencers and press are still feeling burned from last year's event, when the ESA inadvertently leaked the personal data of thousands of attendees.
Featured Image Credit: ESA/MicrosoftTopics: Xbox, E3 2020, Nintendo, PlayStation, PC
