Today, one of the biggest names in the games industry, Geoff Keighley announced that he will not be at E3 2020 and that he will not be producing E3 Coliseum. The E3 Coliseum is a show that was added to the show in 2017. It was created to bring video game fans closer to their favorite games and creators with panels, conversations, and other special events. This is the first time in 25 years that Geoff Keighley has not participated in E3.
Speaking with gamesindustry.biz about his decision, Keighley said: “Given what has been publicly communicated about plans for E3 2020, I just don’t feel comfortable participating in the show at this time. I saw the E3 website leak this AM and said, “You know what, I really need to let people know what to expect from me, so no one is disappointed.” This certainly wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I think it’s the right one for me — and I wanted to let fans know before tickets go on sale.”
Geoff Keighley isn’t the only one isn’t going to E3 because of how much the show is changing. PlayStation said that they won’t be attending the event this year because they “do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year” which is the release of PlayStation 5.
The ESA announced that they were going to make a number of changes for E3 2020 to try and make E3 a fan, media, and influencer festival. There is going to be a large focus on influencers and paid celebrity deals.
Talking about the ways E3 is changing their approach, Keighley said: “We’re at an interesting inflection point between physical and digital events, and certainly E3 is in the middle of a transition — evolving from what was traditionally an industry trade show. As someone who attended E3 for more than two and a half decades, there are of course a lot of emotions. But when you look at it objectively, E3 is really just an idea about uniting the industry and fans to celebrate the medium on a global scale. The future of E3 will be determined based on how effective the brand is at delivering against that goal.”
When addressing the future of E3, Keighley said: “I absolutely think there’s a way forward for the brand of E3. This is just my take, but I think E3 needs to be more digital, global and inclusive in its approach to connecting gamers and celebrating the industry. It’s not really about who buys a booth on the show floor. Anyone who participated in The Game Festival on Steam around The Game Awards probably has a pretty good sense of my vision for how we bring the world together around games.”