It Looks Like E3 2020 Is Cancelled

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This article was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.

Although events like GDC and the European Pokémon Championships have been cancelled due to Coronavirus, E3 had been holding out, and was moving forward ‘full speed ahead’ as recently as last week. However, it now seems that the outbreak has grown too much, and the event will be cancelled.

Multiple outlets are reporting that an announcement confirming the cancellation is due later today. Ars Technica originally broke the story, citing multiple sources, and developer Devolver Digital also posted on Twitter telling everyone to ‘cancel your E3 flights and hotels’.

Meanhile, Bloomberg’s report on the matter suggests that ESA, the organisers of E3, are exploring the possibility of a completely live-streamed event as a replacement. Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has also taken to Twitter to reveal he’s heard similar rumblings, though he does seem to suggest that the ESA have not made an official decision quite yet, with the organisation merely liaising with publishers about the best course of action.

Still, it would certainly appear that E3 is in for a rough time. With multiple developers and publishers pulling out in recent years, and with reports that it’s due to pivot to a ‘fan, media and influencer festival’ setup going forward, this could be the final nail in the coffin for the traditional E3. We’ve discussed what it could mean for the event in this week’s podcast:

We’ll keep you posted as and when we get official confirmation.