E3 2020 cancelled: what are the big companies doing now?

With this year’s E3 well and truly cancelled, what are the likes of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Square Enix going to do instead?

It’s quite surreal knowing that E3, the gaming industry’s biggest event, won’t be happening this year as a result of the coronavirus.

E3 is treated almost like a holiday for some fans but with it being cancelled, what’s going to happen now?

Specifically, what will all the big publishers, that usually reserve their biggest announcements for E3, do instead?

Sony

In case you somehow missed it, Sony weren’t even going to attend E3 in the first place. Instead, the publisher planned to host its own events dedicated to the PlayStation 5, but we haven’t heard anything about that since and ‘hundreds’ of consumer events doesn’t sound like a very good idea in light of the coronavirus.

It’s highly likely that we’ll still see a PlayStation 5 reveal round about June, via some kind of online event, but there has been no official confirmation at this time. But with the way Sony has been carrying on it’s still unclear whether the lack of any PlayStation 5 news is due to delays from the coronavirus or Sony just being incredibly secretive.

Microsoft

Unlike Sony, Microsoft has been revealing quite a bit about its Xbox Series X console over the last few months, although it still hasn’t shown off any games properly. The plan was to have a proper, dedicated presentation at E3 but, following the cancellation, it will instead host a digital event, as stated by Xbox head Phil Spencer.

In a statement to GameSpot, the big N said that it supported the decision to cancel E3 and that it was ‘considering various ways to engage with [its] fans and will have more to share as the year continues.’

As for what it could potentially reveal, one safe bet would be more details about the Zelda: Breath Of The Wild sequel it announced last year.

Ubisoft

Ubisofthave also confirmed that it will be ‘exploring other options for a digitalexperience.’ No news on when exactly that will take place, or whether it willfeature another Just Dance performance. They’re almost traditional at thispoint.

It’s very unlikely that it won’t have any sort of replacement event for its own announcements, as Bethesda has a number of projects in the works that fans are eager to hear more about, such as Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield.

We can probably expect Bethesda to host its own event around June time, but this is only speculation for the time being.

EA

EA hasn’t properly attended E3 for several years now, but it has always held its own private event nearby and at around the same time, usually with a set of livestreams as well.

According to PC Gamer, an EA rep has stated that the publisher is keeping a close eye on the coronavirus development and is ‘reviewing how it will change [its] plans for EA Play 2020.’

EA hasn’t got much on its schedules at the moment though, so it needs to make announcements at some point, most likely for the likes of Battlefront 6, a new Star Wars game, and Dragon Age 4.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. hasn’t commented on E3’s cancellation, as of the time of writing, but it is believed that they were going to have a big presence at the event, and would have hosted their own press conference for the first time.

One insider claimed that it intended to not only finally announce the long-rumoured Batman game but also show off a Harry Potter role-playing game and whatever Rocksteady’s working on at the moment.

Since Warner Bros. isn’t really known for doing its own livestreams or digital events it’s unknown how it intends to announce its games now.

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