ESA, the annual organizer of the Los Angeles fair, recognizes that cancellations and delays in some events are influencing this edition.
After the Game Developers Conference 2020, one of the biggest events of the year – in theory for late summer – has been postponed, the E3 2020 organization is thinking about whether to do the same in view of coronavirus reactions. There were many companies that canceled their presence in the GDC -Microsoft, Epic, Activision …-, so the final decision was to postpone it. Now, ESA, who organizes the angel fair, recognizes that the situation is being "raised."
"Everyone is watching the situation very closely," they acknowledge from ESA, warning that the health and safety of the attendees will be their priority. The alternatives are not particularly attractive, since for example, the GDC organization has proposed recording some of the interventions planned for the period between 16 and 20 of this month to be able to reproduce them later. Even, the option has also been raised that these interventions be retransmitted from some streaming platform.
How coronavirus is affecting video games
It was Sony who first raised his voice at this contagion, announcing his absence at the PAX East that is being held during this weekend in Boston, a fair for which the Japanese company had ambitious plans. Square Enix has finally come, but He has changed a lot of his planning, especially when it comes to Final Fantasy XIV Online. He has also canceled some of the thematic concerts about MMO and NieR.
Later, similar reactions would come from a good handful of companies that were erased from the GDC: Epic Games, Microsoft, Gearbox, Activision … Today we have also learned that Capcom has canceled some of its Capcom Pro Tour stops 2020: Brussels Challenge 2020, Norcal Regionals 2020 and April Annihilation 2020.
