The ESA cancels E3 2020 due to growing Coronavirus concerns

Due to the growing concerns of the Covid-19 virus (aka Coronavirus), the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has decided to cancel officially E3 2020. With this decision by the ESA, this year’s E3 Expo will become the first one to be cancelled in the history of the premiere video game event which started back in 1995.

“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,” says the ESA.

“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.”

The ESA will soon contact exhibitors and attendees with info about refunds, while it looks at ways to bring “an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.”

The news comes after an announcement last night on Twitter by Devolver Digital telling its followers to “cancel your E3 flights and hotels, ya’ll.”

Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.

— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020

While many conventions are getting cancelled across the country, this cancellation hurts the ESA more. The E3 Expo has been trying to adapt with new ways to bring more people to the event, after less people working in the gaming industry and in media started to show up to the event. Because E3 has been mainly a trade event in which only people in the industry and media have been invited to attend, the ESA started inviting gamers to attend in 2017, with mixed results.

[Sources]: @DevolverDigital (Twitter): “Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, ya’ll.”. @E3Expo (Facebook): The E3 team is devastated to share this news. This decision was not reached lightly, but it is the right one for the health and safety of all involved. Read our statement here: https://e3expo.com/. E3 Expo (web site): News: E3 2020cancelled due to growing convers over COVID-19 virus – [Archive].