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Update: ESA officially cancels E3 2020 as coronavirus looms

E3 2021 to return as a "reimagined event"

Update: ESA officially cancels E3 2020 as coronavirus looms

Update: The ESA has officially cancelled E3 2020 as a direct result of the ongoing coronavirus.

"After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry - our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners - we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles," said the ESA in a statement.

"Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today."

Both exhibitors and attendees will receive information regarding refunds, while the organisation explores other options to "coordinate and online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020".

Furthermore, the ESA confirmed that E3 will return in 2021 too but this time as a "reimagined event that brings fans, media and the industry together in a showcase that celebrates the global video game industry".

No further details of what the E3 2020 or E3 2021 event will entail have been disclosed.

Original Story: The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is due to be cancelled among coronavirus concerns.

That's according to a report by GI.biz and Ars Technica, where multiple sources have confirmed that the games event - due to take place across the second week in June within Los Angeles, California - has been scrapped to try and prevent the virus from spreading further.

Last week, the ESA reaffirmed its plans to push forward with E3 despite the fact that the city of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, but did note it would "continue to monitor" the situation.

"Cancel your E3 flights"

Texas games publisher Devolver Digital added further fuel to the fire by tweeting out a similar message about E3's cancellation to those that were looking to attend.

At the time of writing, the ESA has yet to make any official announcement surrounding E3 2020. PocketGamer.biz has reached out to E3 and its organisers for comment.

E3 has struggled to keep itself relevant for a number of years now, with the venue opening its doors to the public in 2017 for the first time. However, due to the rise of digital entertainment, companies have been increasingly skipping the event - most notably, Sony missed the event in 2019 and was on course to do without it again in 2020.

Last month, organisers of GDC officially postponed the event following health concerns about Covid-19. It was due to take place in San Francisco from March 16th to 20th.


Deputy Editor

Matthew Forde is the deputy editor at PocketGamer.biz and also a member of the Pocket Gamer Podcast. You can find him on Twitter @MattForde64 talking about stats, data and everything pop culture related - particularly superheroes.