Organizers behind PAX have released a new update post confirming that PAX West is still expected to happen on September 4th – 7th. They stated that their website is receiving updates soon to acquire passes and hotels for the event. “we’re still planning on putting together a great PAX West this coming Labor Day weekend,” event organizers stated.
PAX West organizers reassured potential attendees that the event is observing and upholding health and safety guidelines put in place by the CDC. Most of the country and Washington, where the convention will be held, is currently under mandatory quarantine. Washington is under lockdown until May 4 with the hosting building, Washington State Convention Center, where the event will be hosted. “We will continue to monitor the situation and work with health officials at all levels of government, and intend to follow all CDC and WHO guidelines as they are released. That said, actions already taken by our convention center and local government have left us optimistic,” The statement continued.
Earlier, other large conventions have been canceled. Including the largest of the North American convention E3 has been closed along with the potential digital variant of the event. Gamescom has switched to hosting the event in digital format, as Germany is canceling public events until August. It is unclear if the lockdowns will be extended in response to COVID-19, but currently, the rate of infections has been dropping faster than expected to leave hope for an early lifting of the lockdowns.
It is also unclear which companies will be attending PAX West. With the cancellation of E3, many companies have found alternative methods to disperse information and ways to connect to their audiences without the physical conventions acting as a middle man. E3 has promised to host E3 for 2021, but they have stated that the show will drastically shift their tone and focus, and it possible that PAX will have to do the same as well.