Covid-19 has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. With cases around the world increasing on the daily, we’ve seen more and more events being canceled or postponed due to increased fears, protecting the safety of everyone involved.
It’s an uncertain time for the world and the gaming community certainly hasn’t gone unaffected. We’ll break down the events currently postponed or canceled as result of Covid-19 and do our best to keep you updated on the latest news surrounding them.
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo): Cancelled
One of the more shocking cancellations is of E3, the world’s largest gaming expo. While not scheduled until June, the E3 team have made the decision to cancel the event though are looking into the possibility of an online experience instead.
The official statement: “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.”
Many have commented on the fact that in coming years an event like E3 may not even be a necessity, with the ‘big players’ like Sony choosing not to attend and simply stream their own news. That begs to question, will 2020’s Covid-19 virus claim E3 as its victim?
ESL One Los Angeles: Postponed
This morning, ESL officially confirmed that the awaited Dota 2 Major scheduled for March 20th to the 22nd in Los Angeles, California has been postponed.
“In light of recent travel restrictions and the evolving COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation, ESL is postponing the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 Dota 2 Major,” ESL said. “We are working closely with Valve to determine a new time and location for the Major.”
It is a disappointing announcement for the players and fans of Dota 2 though depending on the continuance of the virus, we may hope to have the event rescheduled for a date in the near future.
The Game Developers Conference: Cancelled
The GDC expo is a huge ‘conference’ style event bringing together the gaming development community. Due to Covid-19, many of the event’s main sponsors, such as Sony, pulled out resulting in the event set for March 10th to be canceled.
“After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March. “
While the official statement references only a postponement, there has been no other word on a new date for the event to take place.
At the moment, these are the largest events currently disrupted by the Covid-19 epidemic, though we’re sure it will have more consequences in the weeks and months to come.
We cannot stress enough the importance of following standard health and safety protocols. While we will not in any way advise officially, stay safe fellow gamers! We will keep you updated as soon as there’s more news.
