IGN decided to hold a digital event in June to replace E3, which will not be held this year due to coronavirus concerns.
E3’s organisers, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced that they have given up on E3 for 2020, but not for 2021: according to their plans, it would be held from June 15 to June 17 next year. In March, they were considering to have an online experience as COVID-19 has spread significantly, but according to some industrial sources, the organisers have left the digital plans behind as well, and they might be in the right.
IGN announced that in early June, they will have a digital event called Summer of Gaming, where they will feature the latest news, previews, developer interviews, plus more information on the upcoming games and console hardware (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X). Several companies have confirmed their participation: 2K Games, Amazon, Bandai Namco, Devolver Digital, Google, SEGA, Square Enix, THQ Nordic, Twitter – more to be announced later. Viewers could participate by voting on their favourite announcements or by recording their reaction videos.
„With the next generation of console gaming kicking off later this year and gamers eager to learn more about what games they’ll be playing on their new hardware, our online event will be a key moment for publishers and developers to connect with the audience worldwide,” said IGN chief content and product officer Peer Schneider. „More and more people are turning towards video games for entertainment and escapism. Last week we saw new records for traffic across all of our platforms—we’re excited to bring this global, digital event to our audiences and partners—as this will be an event not to be missed,” IGN EVP and general manager Yael Prough added.
Microsoft is likely going to join because they were planning to reveal the Xbox Series X’ pricing in June (around E3), and Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, said their pricing will be agile. Sony is also not there, but they’ll likely have a State of Play (their „Nintendo Direct”). EA Play? We have yet to see what Electronic Arts will do now.
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