The Coronavirus has hit the video game industry in a variety of ways. Last week, news concerning the virus occurred day after day as many developers and publishers announced that they were backing out of events. PlayStation, CD Projekt Red, and PUBG Corp were some of many who canceled their attendance during PAX East. PlayStation also backed out of attending GDC along with EA, Microsoft, Unity and many more. Due to this, the organizers of the event announced that GDC is postponed to the Summer instead of its initial date in March. Coronavirus also affected other things in the industry such as the postponement of China’s largest League of Legends tournament, the delay of The Outer Worlds for Nintendo Switch, and the creation of new studio. With all of these things being affected by Coronavirus specifically events such as PAX East and GDC, many are wondering if what would be happening to E3 2020. The Entertainment Software Association, organizers of E3 have released a statement saying the event is moving forward and as of now will not be canceled or postponed.
The ESA said, “everyone is watching the situation closely. We will continue to be vigilant, as our first priority is the health, wellness, and safety of all of our exhibitors and attendees. Given what we know at this time, we are moving ahead full speed with E3 2020 planning. Exhibit and registration sales are on track for an exciting show in June.”
E3 2020 is going in a different direction than previous years with a focus on influencers and paid celebrity deals. This new direction has lead to some big names such as Geoff Keighley announcing that they will not be at the event this year. PlayStation has also announced that they would not be attending again, making it two years in a row that they are not going to be at E3.
Despite the new direction, many publishers like Xbox have announced that they will be at E3 2020. Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Sega, Capcom, Square Enix, Take-Two, Bandai Namco America, and Warner Bros. will also be at the event.
E3 2020 takes place on June 9-11.